The Legend of the Fire Crystal (Part 1)
by Helion98
Summary: The Backwing Draigar's ideal childhood came to an end when she was forced to flee her home from a cruel flyer with even crueler plans. Despite finding refuge in the Great Valley with the help of Littlefoot and his friends, the urge to return to her homeland still grows in her little heart. But as her and her new friends go to the cherished land what surprises might await them?
1. Prologue

**AN; Hello everyone. I know, I know... my profile said that I was working on How to Train Your Dragon fanfics, well... Recently I came across a great The Land Before Time fanfic written by the amazing Draigar-Crystal. She is a great person and a good artist as well. You can find her on Deviantart under the nickname of ****Draigar-Fire-Crystal, so give her some of your love and support :)**

**A month ago she approached me, asking if I could translate her fanfic into English and I agreed, so after some time, and after it was Beta-read by The Rhombus ****who wrote the amazing The Seven Hunters fanfic. Here it is. The Legend of the Fire Crystal. Please enjoy and leave a review. ^^  
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**Prologue: The Road from the Threehorn Peak**

An impenetrable fog of volcanic ash loomed over the ground as it covered the skies above with it's thick embrace. It was already morning and yet still, only but a few rays of the Bright Circle managed to penetrate through the ash. After the eruption of the Threehorn Peak, the smoke from it spread around for about two and a half kilometers while the red hot lava still flowed down the side of the mountain and into a pitch black gorge. During the night, all living things had hastily abandoned their homes, except for two creatures that lay motionless inside of a cave of a neighboring mountain.

One of them lazily moved its finger, slowly regaining consciousness after the fall they experienced. The creature moaned quietly due to the pain in his back, which escalated into louder and louder groans. Opening one eye, it slowly looked around the place of it's unceremonious landing, making sure it was safe before it leaned onto its front paws and tried standing up. As it stood on its back feet, the creature looked over its body. Suffice it to say, it was impossible to call it clean. Due to the eruption, the skin in many areas was charred, and the membranes attached to the front paws were showing signs of burns.

Feeling the pain in its beak, the creature began to rub it with its front paws, or more accurately, hands, to erase the coal marks that covered it. Having cleaned it's face, the creature began to clean the rest of its body, slowly but surely revealing the pale pink color. Then the creature shook itself from head to toe, not forgetting about long whip-like tail with a tip in the shape of a fan.

Wide webbed wings, sharp beak, short neck and muscular arms clearly spoke of the extraordinary strangeness of this creature. Those creatures you won't meet in the 21st century. So, where did it come from? What kind of an animal it was? Maybe it was an alien from space? Or perhaps a genetically modified bird?

Nope! The answer is unusually simple, my friends. Those who are interested in or studied ancient fossils, in other words, those who studied prehistoric animals, it was easy to guess that this creature belonged to the Pterosaurs. We also mentioned the whip-like tail. Yes, this was indeed a prehistoric land. And this Pterosaur was a real Rhamphorhynchus. However on this land, they were called, Flyers.

Whether Rhamphorhynchus, Scaphognathus, Pterodactyl or Quetzalcoatlus - they all fly, and others didn't care about what species they were. But even among the Flyers, there were visible differences; some had tails longer than their wings, others had no tails and instead had large crests on their heads, and some had neither of those features. Throughout history, we divided them into three types; Longtail, Crested and Lowflyers. But anyways… let's get back to them.

Those two were thrown away from the Threehorn Peak when they lingered on one of its many cliffs. The explosion caught them off-guard and they lost consciousness from the shockwave that impacted their bodies. Now they were here, inside the cave, battered, hungry, but most importantly, alive.

The Longtail sat not to far from his friend, who still laid on his back, not yet coming back to his senses after their ordeal. The hot fragments from the erupting mountain seriously damaged his wings, while the beak was almost completely black, like the color of the deepest lake possible. However the color of the ash on his beak couldn't be compared to the blackness in his soul, which almost destroyed him.

That blackness did not allowed him to see the beauty of the world where he lived. He only saw darkness, and no light in the life around him. His friend was not like him, even if he had a strange appearance, it didn't automatically mean that he was dangerous. Although the blackness replaced the light in his life a while ago, and all because he wanted to find his sister. And the other, dreamt of finding happiness in the face of his beloved. It was that dream that led them to the Threehorn Peak.

"Damn the day when I decided to follow that bastard, Pterano… Curse him!" At last the Lowflyer said, waking up from his unconscious sleep.

He remembered quite perfectly how he and his friend flew behind their leader, following him as he led them to their desired goal. The flyer hated him because of the broken promise of a dream that never came to pass.

Meanwhile the Longtail flyer was sitting on the ledge, his legs dangled over the precipice below as he was looking away in the distance with a saddened expression on his face. Tears rolled down his eyes, for he knew the pain he caused many of his relatives, but he didn't realize the gravity of his mistakes, until today as the bitter truth let itself be known to him.

"Why are you whimpering?" the Lowflyer said in a soft, yet mocking tone.

"We have gone through so much, we suffered a lot, and yet… we didn't find what we were looking for…" The Longtail sobbed, his chest and back shuddered with each sob as it became more clear and louder.

"Stop whining! What are you? A girl? A crying squeaky girl?!"

The Longtail flyer turned his head in slight disbelief, tear still in his eyes "Shut up, Sierra! You… you are..."

"I'm a what?" The Lowflyer narrowed his eyes as he gritted his teeth together, "Come on, Rinkus! Tell me what you really feel like a real male!"

"You are a miserable bastard! Because of you, I almost became the same as you! It's because of you we are in this mess!" Rinkus yelled out in rage and pain.

"My fault? Why is it my fault?!" Sierra crossed his arms together while still glaring at Rinkus.

"You're the first who started thinking about nothing but yourself!"

"Oh really?! Last time I checked, it was Pterano who decided to take all the power of the Stone of Cold Fire and rule the world by himself. I only wanted to get Drago back, just like you."

"Pterano didn't grow up like we did, he grew among his kind. But we grew with…"

"With who?!" The Lowflyer rudely interrupted in a rage, but then he noticed the look on his friend's face that he didn't like and a small twinge of fear echoed in his heart, "We almost were brothers, we did everything together."

Rinkus shook his head a bit, "Yeah… but right now I need to fly my own path, alone." Sierra eyes widened in shock at that, "Our crystals are slowly devouring us, feeding on our fears and weaknesses. I don't want that. It's best I find Drago on my own."

"On your own? But… but what about me? I want to find her as well! Rinkus, please think about this. I won't survive on my own, I need you! Please… don't leave me alone." Sierra looked pleadingly at his companion.

Meanwhile Rinkus spread his wings, "Don't worry, you'll survive. If you almost killed those young ones then you won't have any troubles at taking down your prey." He said in a slightly regretful voice as he turned his head towards the skies and tightened his legs as he prepared for a take-off leap. "Goodbye, Sierra."

With those words spoken, Rinkus leapt into the air as he flapped his tired wings. And Sierra… he didn't expect Rinkus to leave him, maybe the goodbye wasn't for good. As just a few days ago they flew side by side, playfully pushing each other, childishly wrested in mud and fought over the fish they caught. They never separated, even when they slept. Either Rinkus would lay a head on his back, or Sierra would get comfortable under the wing of his older brother. There was just no way he could imagine his life without a friend.

And now… his life was completely shattered. No friends who could support him, nor relatives, to who he could cling to in the most desperate hours. He was alone. Alone in this cruel, indomitable world. The flyer quickly panicked as he felt the loneliness around him. This was the first time he was truly alone, and that scared him.

He wanted to fly after Rinkus but something stopped him. It could be a sprained wrist or a burnt wing, or perhaps because he wasn't a small chick anymore and he needed to learn how to live alone. He was a 27 year old male. A strong, healthy, nimble and a bit handsome young male. He could survive in this world… but… he still lacked one thing to give him happiness. A friend.

For a while, Sierra sat on the ledge and hoped that Rinkus would come back for him as he kept looking in the direction where his friend had flown off to. He was now starved, exhausted and hope gradually left him. With every hour, he huddled further and further into the corner of his cave. He was defeated. But his life didn't end here. He didn't know what tomorrow will bring, but with impatience, he awaited the next day.

Though after a while, an unexpected surprise awaited him. Behind him, he could clearly hear the vibrations and flapping of leathery wings, and Sierra hoped it was Rinkus, who finally came back for him. But as he turned, it wasn't his friend who stood there.

It was another flyer, and not just a flyer. A female flyer of great beauty. Her leathery hide was bright purple, with her feathery collar looking in tip top pristine condition which showed a great deal of tidiness and preening. And the squinty and sly look of her eyes, hinted at the flyer's solitary life and her ability to resist the forces of nature.

It was then that she spoke, "I see you were abandoned, Sierra. Would you like to come with me?" Sierra looked quite surprised at her.

"How do you know my name?" The lowflyer asked.

"Oh, I know more than just your name." The female slowly approached as she tried to lay her palm on the male's shoulder. "I also know that you're looking for someone."

Sierra though, looked at her with suspicion and pulled his wing back, not letting her touch him. "Yes, that's right."

"There is no need to be afraid of me. I'm your friend and I won't hurt you." She said calmly and sweetly, "And I can help you find your female friend."

"And how would you do it?" The male flyer raised his eyebrow a bit, not believing it… and yet the temptation of such an offer was quite strong.

"I'll lead you right to her, and make it so she will be yours for good." The female replied, still maintaining her sweet tone.

"Obviously there is a catch…" Sierra muttered to himself, he knew there was a catch somewhere in this, since there were no sweet deals like this. And nothing came free. So he knew that something bad will follow if he agrees.

"But in return, I want you to run a little errand for me." And there it was, her words as if predicted by his mind. But he was curious what she wanted in return.

"What do I have to do?" Sierra asked, looking slightly suspicious at the female before him.

"I think you heard about a prophecy… that soon a Backwing would appear who in the time of great darkness, would show the world a way to the light." The female explained. But Sierra on the other hand, was done with prophecies. That was the mistake of the Stone of Cold Fire which turned out to be nothing but a hoax.

"No, I didn't hear about this prophecy. And I don't give a damn about it!" Sierra turned away from the female.

"Well, there is one. The heart of that Backwing is incredibly powerful and those who get possession over it, will obtain that power." The female said calmly.

"Then why do you need me? If you want that heart so badly why don't you just take it yourself?" This whole situation was already fishy from the beginning, and if that female won't leave him alone, Sierra might as well fly away to find another cave to sulk in.

"There is a reason why I can't take it, because the child hasn't hatched yet." She turned to her towards the male flyer and smirked. "But in three Cold Times, it will hatch. In Drago's family."

Sierra sharply breathed in the air as his eyes widened. He slowly turned his head towards the female flyer.

"In what family?" He asked with disbelief in his eyes.

"In the family of your beloved, who is on the other side of the world, carrying her young inside her belly. Along with the one I need." The female replied as Sierra looked down at the ground, tears welling up in his eyes as the feeling of betrayal washed over him.

"This… this can't be…. Drago would never do it! She… she loves me…"

The female however pointed her clawed finger at him, "You are her past. Meanwhile your friend is flying straight to her."

"What do I need to do to bring her back to me?" Sierra asked, desperation rising in his voice while the female continued to be calm about it.

"Simple… Kill the chosen Backwing and bring its heart to me."

Sierra slowly lowered his head back down again as he looked at his hand. He already had to chase after younglings, and he almost killed them… but for the sake of his happiness, he would gladly do it all over again. He took in a deep breath as he clenched his claws into a fist before turning back to the female flyer as she calmly watched her.

"All I need to do is kill a Backwing hatchling? That's all? And you'll get my Drago back?"

The female affirmatively nodded her head, and reached out her hand.

"I accept." And with that, Sierra shook her hand.

He was fiercely focused on his new prey, as the Lowflyer and his new companion soared up into the sky which was shining with sunshine. The Bright Circle already dispersed the darkness from the ashes of a newly erupting mountain, illuminating the lowlands and elevations below, reflecting off the rivers that flowed at the bottom of the gorges.

There was no fatigue in his wings as with each stroke, he asserted his superiority over others. A proud look and evil yellow eyes proved the distrust he had of others, his companion included.

But where were they heading? Who is Drago? And what was a Backwing that the female flyer told about?

Well, my friends, I think it's time I told you an old legend about a young creature, whose color was bright and fierce, eyes that sparkle with beauty, and a heart with the greatest of gifts. This legend was told to me by a friend who lived in a country far away. Which one, sadly I don't quite remember. But I would never forget the legend itself. I remember everything to the smallest detail. This is a story about true friendship, searing hatred, and touching love. The story of how one creature, who was so quiet, so strange and an outcast of its own flock, would forever change the fate of several dinosaurs.

This story will forever remain in my heart, because if you believe, you would love.


	2. Chapter 1

**Episode 1: The Birth of a Legend.**

**Chapter 1: Backwing Valley.**

_Three years later…_

Spring time reigned over the earth as a Light fog covered the ground. The young shoots of trees were covered in small dew droplets, some of which slowly rolled out and coalesced into one that dropped unto a small blue flower below, creating a gentle trill that broke the silence of the valley. The small droplets reflected the light of the Night Circle that hastily retreated behind the mountains.

Two hours later, a warming Bright circle slowly rose from the opposite side of the mountains, casting it's rays down into the caves where they were reflected by the shiny scales of its owner. The rays warmed up a huge body of the creature that peaceful slept inside its cool cave, however the glint of the light, caused the creature to slowly open its eye.

The creature slowly stood up on its four legs before letting out a huge yawn, showing it's white teeth as it stretched its body and flared up it's wings before slowly walking outside into the foggy morning. Once the fog cleared slightly, the creature proudly stood in all its glory.

The creature had a huge muscular body, completely covered in strong armor-like scales. Stretching along its spine were a series of thick spikes. And it had a long and muscular tail which tip was adorned by a large spike.

But the biggest, and most incredible fact was that the creature was standing on four legs, while it also had a pair of wings on its back. Simply incredible! Since no animal had such a body structure, four legs and two wings. It was real, living, breathing, dragon! The mighty creations of myth and legend whose tales were spoken by generations to come.

The dragons that lived in the land they called Dragvalley were not bloodthirsty despots and monsters like stories told us, instead they were peaceful protectors, who would fight for freedom instead of a piece of prey. And they came in such a wide variety of colors. Some had spots or stripes, sometimes both. Some of the dragons had small wings that barely let them take off the ground, if at all. While others had large and wide wings that let them soar as high as they wanted.

But the residents of Dragvalley didn't call themselves dragons, instead they called themselves Backwings, due to the location of their wings above their shoulders and not on their front legs like those of the Flyers. The valley was also home to a large variety of species; From tiny Leafhiders to gigantic Twofeet and Longbodies.

Among such an abundance of species that inhabited this safe and beautiful land, it was impossible not to notice one other species who had a very rare trait among the Backwings. They were called Softheads, and they sported a soft and silky mane, just like human hair. Such a trait was only shared by only a few other species, but thus far, only Softheads had a true mane.

Softheads also had wings that were long and narrow, which allowed them to soar in the sky for long periods of time. Their heads were also decorated with a pair of huge horns that were angled horizontally backwards. Each elbow on their forelegs had a spike which curved slightly upwards. At the end of their tails there could also be a wide arrangement of decorations, like; a webbed fan, tuft of feathers, a shark-like fin or just an ordinary arrow shaped tail tip.

Their head was more like a horse's, but it was not difficult to notice a beak akin to those of an eagle. The beak was primarily used as either defencive weapon, or as a third limb to grab things. In general you could say that the Softheads resembled half-horses and half-eagle, however their magnificent grace and posture easily disproved that resemblance. Their proudly raised heads, slim body, strong hind legs and a smooth posture gave them a feline-like outline. The claws on their paws were slightly inward when they walked, in addition to them having soft pads on their palms and feet.

As the Backwing looked out in the distance, it could see that the younglings were already awake. They playfully jumped around, trying to pounce on one another as they gracefully avoided each other, their bodies like springs, winded up when they were about to pounce and immediately straightened out when in the air. It was then that one of the younger Backwings was pounced upon and both giggled as they were engaged in a small play fight.

The adult Backwing couldn't help but smile at the scene before him, it was indeed a peaceful time.

In one of the caves, lived a special pair of Softheads. Drake and Drago, who were the guardians of Dragvalley. Drake was an emerald colored Backwing with a topaz colored mane and he was the leader of Dragvalley's flock, his ancestors ruled these lands for countless generations as they protected the valley from those who would bring chaos and disorder to this tranquil land.

However several years ago, he found a wonderful companion in his life, filling the emptiness he felt inside of his heart with something that any lonely creature wants.

Drago arrived in Dragvalley around three Cold Times ago. They met each other at a young age when during a rather harsh cold time, Drake led his flock on a migration to warmer and more bountiful lands. The young male Backwing had never seen a female of such beauty, and now years later, they had finally met each other again.

But when Drake announced that he will be taking Drago as his mate, the flock reached with worry and contempt for the new female. After all, Drago was not of any great lineage in their eyes, just a simple Backwing trying to weasel her way into a powerful position. So there was a bunch of nervous whispers in the crowd.

"_What do you think frightened our leader to a point that he had to take a simple female?"_

"_No, she is just playing him around her claws… I say she charmed him with her beauty."_

"_What will be the future for Drake's line? She doesn't even have a drop of guardian blood!"_

"_I know… there were plenty of females from more prominent lines he could have chosen…"_

"_Maybe she charmed him with her gift? Look at him and her, if only we could open our leader's eyes…"_

The Backwings chattered in the background as they spread rumors throughout the assembled crowd, of either the leader's fear or the female's magical charm.

But they didn't know one heavy truth about the amethyst colored 'simple' female. It is that she was a descendant of a most ancient and powerful line of Guardians, the last of her line in whose veins flowed the blood of power unmatched.

So why did she decide to hide her origin? There were serious reasons for that, and that Drago didn't have a home or relatives to come to for shelter. All her life she spent traveling with her brothers, even though they were not her actual siblings, they treated each other as such. They were inseparable until fate decided to play her cruel hand, and one of the brothers started hating her.

But for what reason did one of her brothers suddenly started hating her? She didn't tell, in fear it might bring shame or worse… so she hid it. That secret was only known to her and two 'brothers' and as such, she needed protection from whoever is trying to harm her, so she agreed to become a mate to Dragvalley's leader in hopes she would be protected.

Because if Dragvalley can't protect her… then no one on this world could.

So she and Drake didn't pay much attention to the looks of contempt other had for her, after all they now have set sights on a much more important goal. To create their offspring, and for Drago it was a perfect chance to continue her lineage.

For the last cold time she didn't come out of her cave, and the reason was quite obvious. Three small eggs, sitting inside a warm nest, inside of which they carried the genes of two greatest generations, and long awaited heirs to their lineage.

During all that time, the mother carried those eggs inside of her belly, protecting them from the outside dangers. So when she finally laid them, their appearance was kept as a very strict secret from the Dragvalley's residents, and the outside world. Not even a single rumor should escape the confines of their home cave. But thankfully, the residents didn't poke and prod at her.

After all, they were still talking about how a female with no lineage was able to woo over their leader. So any other rumors were quickly stifled out.

As Drago nuzzled her eggs a bit, she smiled a warm smile, for soon there will be a day that would become their happiest moment in life. But deep inside she knew was that this event, might actually cause her more suffering than happiness.


	3. Chapter 2

**Edit: From this chapter on, Leaf-eater language will be normal and Backwing language will be Italics. Here is the key to understand;**

_"Backwing Speech"  
_

_'Backwing Thoughts'_

"Leaf-eater Speech"

'Leaf-eater Thoughts'

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**Chapter 2: A Legend Reborn.**

Hot and sultry weather was one of the signs of the coming summer. The Bright Circle has not reached its zenith and already the Backwings had felt it's sweltering heat. In order to escape the scorching rays, they resolved to use different methods. Some started fanning their wings, cooling themselves through wind. Some hid under the trees, bushes, burrows or caves.

Meanwhile the more active Backwings were playing and splashing in the ponds and rivers, some even started using a nearby waterfall as a makeshift water slide as they curled up right before hitting the water, causing some splashes of water to hit the nearby resting Backwings.

But the adult Backwings didn't mind, after all the water was pleasantly cool and for happiness nothing else mattered at that point.

However not all Backwings enjoyed their time at the waterfall, as away from the hustle and bustle of the outside world, inside a cool cave, Drago diligently guarded her clutch of eggs. For an entire Cold Time she didn't move away from her nest in anticipation for the eggs to hatch, and for her to greet her first offspring.

She anxiously waited until she was able to hear the voices of her children and leave the sheltering cave, letting them explore the world beyond it's safe confines, to answer each and every silly question they will bombard her. Oh she just couldn't wait for it!

But soon, Drago's daydreaming was interrupted a light knocking sound. She was startled and turned her head around as she examined the cave, looking for a possible intruder. But then her sleepy and baggy eyes made their presence known, so she laid her head back down and closed her eyes. Maybe that sound was in her mind.

But as she started to slowly drift to sleep… another knocking sound.

Her ears perked up as she raised her head again, _"It wasn't in my mind!"_ Drago affirmed to herself and them looked at her nest.

She quickly rose up on her four legs and slowly approached it, getting closer to the source of the sound as with each step, the sound was louder and more clear and then, she heard it… a small squeak. Drago's eyes went wide in happiness, she couldn't believe it! She was finally a mother! She realized what that sound was, the knock of a small beak against the egg's protective shell.

_"Sunset!"_ Drago yelled deeper into the cave, but there was no reply, _"Sunset! Come over here! Hurry!"_

A small rumble erupted from the deeper parts of the cave, as if a couple of rocks were loosened and rolled down the sloped wall.

_"Uuugghhh… Drago… I just fell asleep…"_ Came a sleepy reply from a Backwing as he slowly emerged out of the darkness, _"And I just managed to get my little bundle of energy to sleep."_

The male was a large raspberry colored Backwing with a dull beige colored mane. He was also Drago's 'brother' and in fact they looked almost identically. Same bright muzzle that is a shade lighter than the body, horns sticking out in the same direction and even a fan of feathers on the tip of his tail. That was enough to convince the owner of the cave for him to share it with the raspberry colored male.

And even though they were not truly related to one another by blood, they grew together and so were bound to each other like any other brother and sister would. Even though he was a bit rudely woken up after he came back from a Night Patrol and couldn't get a wink of sleep.

But then, his ears perked up as he heard the squeaking of a small hatchling and he smiled as he looked at Drago, _"Is that what I think it is?"_

_"Yes, it is, brother."_ Drago let out a soft and relieved sigh as she leaned into the neck of her brother, _"It's a shame that Drake isn't here…"_

_"I know… but you know as well as I that he is out there protecting you from 'him'."_ Sunset calmly replied, trying to make the most out of the situation and let Drago focus on the happiest of thoughts, she would need it.

Drago nestled into his neck as she rubbed her head against it, then slowly bent it down to her nest, touching one of the eggs with her snout. The hatchling squeaked so loudly, as if talking to his mother about the uncomfortable confines of the egg. The female Backwing for her part, closed her eyes as if put in a trance by the persistent chirping as she felt the hatchling inside with her sensitive nose before suddenly, the hatchling finally started knocking on the shell of it's egg.

Sensing this, Drago quickly pulled her head back to watch the miracle unfold before her eyes as the hatchling started to hatch. Although it wasn't easy for the newborn, it took a lot of effort to break the hard protective shell that once protected it and now was just the confines, preventing it from taking a deep breath of fresh air in the world. It stubbornly hit it's beak against the egg shell before going silent for one or two minutes as if it were resting before going back at it again.

And finally, it's small beak-like muzzle appeared from a small hole it made in the egg, before the entire head followed. It's head was a shade of brown with a black muzzle, and even though it didn't have a great sense of smell and it's eyes were not yet open, it knew one scent that was so close to it. It's mother scent.

The hatchling sensed that scent and started insistently squeak, as if begging for his mother to help him out of the shell, but Drago was in no rush to help it, for it was a trial that the hatchlings alone must overcome. The hatchling continued to squeak with all it's might as it wriggled and tried to jolt out of its shell, then with one final kick of it's back legs, the hatchling was finally able to throw off his shell.

_"Oh, Sunset… isn't it wonderful?"_ Drago said barely containing tears of joy.

_"A real miracle, sister."_ The male Backwing replied in agreement.

The hatchling was resting on the cold stone floor of the cave after the ordeal it went through, though after a couple of minutes it started to sniff around, it could feel the mother's scent very close to it as it lifted it's head… and slowly opened its brown eyes as it could see it's mother, smiling sweetly at him.

The hatchling slowly tried getting on his feet, it's limbs shuddered slightly as the muscles didn't build enough strength yet and it promptly fell down on the floor, but it didn't give as it tried again until it was standing on it's tiny legs before slowly and carefully walked to its mother.

Once it was close, Drago could now see that her first hatchling was a son, and from knowing it, she knew of a perfect name for him. "_Edar... I'll name you, Edar."_ she spoke softly to herself as she slowly leaned down her head to her brown colored son with a slightly wet black mane.

With her warm tongue, she started to lick and clean her male offspring, as he let out a slight giggle, clearly enjoying his first bath when suddenly, a second knocking sound emerged from a second egg. The next hatchling was way quicker getting out of its egg as a small fox colored female with an emerald mane just her mother's, kicked the egg shell away and slowly walked up to Drago, being careful not to trip.

_"Miracle"_ Drago whispered softly as she used her muzzle to rub her child in between her wings.

The female hatchling leaned into her mother's touch, flaring her orange wings as she let out a soft purr. Though Edar also wanted to feel his mother's gentle touch and poked her neck with his snout, demanding that she caress him as well and Drago started to wash her kids with her tongue.

Sunset meanwhile looked from the happy scene back to the nest where there was the last egg, but unlike others, it didn't show any signs of life. Could it be that one child didn't make?

_"Oh, no…"_ Drago looked at the egg with saddened eyes, not because the death of her offspring might jeopardize the survival of her lineage, but because losing a child is the worst kind of pain a mother could bear.

As Sunset looked back at his sister, he could see a tear running down her cheek, he couldn't help but refuse to accept the death of a hatchling. So he walked up to the nest and carefully nuzzled the egg, pushing it slightly while silently praying to the Bright Circle that the child inside is still alive…

And it seems his prayers were answered as the hatchling inside the egg gave out a thin, almost inaudible squeak and started moving inside the egg, giving a sign that the hatchling was alive and ready to come out. But as it started hitting its beak against the shell, Sunset saw that the hatchling is probably too weak to come out of its own egg.

But he couldn't just stand around and let a child die, especially when his sister finally found happiness she deserved! No, screw what others talking about that a child must get out of its egg on its own, for how would you know if the child would survive or not if you won't even give it a chance?

So he carefully picked up the egg into his mouth and gently pressed his sharp teeth into the egg's shell. Drago looked at him and thought that he just didn't want the child to suffocate, so her brother was giving it a fast and quick end but then, was both surprised and happy when he stopped just as the shell cracked before he placed the egg back into its nest.

However, the small hatchling still had troubles of getting out of the egg, it took longer than it's siblings but finally, the child was out of its shell.

But what was quite odd, was that the Backwing hatchling was very unusual to it's siblings. Scales of bright red, with a purple mane and an unusual burgundy band that ran from the tip of its nose along it's muzzle, though it looked more like armor than a simple band.

Drago meanwhile didn't let out any motherly purring sounds and instead looked at the hatchling with a mixture of bewilderment and surprise. Since the red scales on Softheads was a big rarity, in fact so big that the last known story of a red Softhead is over a dozen centuries old! And the armor that ran from the tip of the hatchlings nose along the muzzle was never seen on Softheads either.

However Drago didn't had enough time to ponder on this discovery as the small hatchling started to lift it's small head and started sniffing around for the scent of its mother. It slowly turned it's small head to her mother and tried opening its eyes but the rays of the Bright Circle blinded it slightly before it tried to open them again.

When it did however and was able to see the blurry outline of its mother, Drago pulled her head back. _"Sunset… she's…"_ She said as she couldn't believe her eyes.

Looking at her were a pair of bright yellow eyes, but that wasn't the end of the shocking surprises as the female hatchling had another rare feature, her eyes were dichromatic. While her eyeballs were bright yellow, her left iris was of emerald color, and her right iris with the color of a sapphire.

Happiness and fear flooded into Drago's heart at the same time, her child was special, so special in fact that she knew that there will be great threats against her little one. She knew that someday, she would have to pay a great price for hatching her into this world.

_"Drago?"_ Sunset asked in a worried tone as he lightly bumped her wing, _"You alright?"_

_"I… I think so…"_ Drago replied with worry in her voice, then she turned her head to the male Backwing, _"Sunset… no one must know of her existence! No one!"_

_"But… we can't keep her hidden forever, maybe we could…"_ Sunset began but was quickly interrupted by Drago as he could see the look of fear in her eyes.

_"Promise me!"_ She looked at him with a pleading look, _"Please, Sunset… I beg you… promise me that you'll protect her."_

Deep inside his heart he knew what Drago meant by that statement. Such a rare Backwing could become the victim of unsavory creatures, and of course he also knew who would be looking for her and would stop at nothing to claim her. He looked at the little one again, then after a brief time of thinking, he turned back to his sister.

_"I promise. I swear on my life that I'll protect her no matter what the odds."_ Sunset replied with a determined look and Drago let out a heavy sigh of relief.

_"Thank you, brother…"_ She said as they both rubbed their heads together.

_"So… how are you going to name her?"_ Sunset curiously asked, which in turn made the amethyst colored female quite perplexed. Since such a rare Backwing must also have an appropriate name, one that would signify her rarity, but at the same time won't reveal her true identity out right.

And Drago couldn't think of a perfect one, each name she picked inside her head didn't fit her special offspring. It was here that her brother, Sunset, offered her a very interesting idea.

_"Say Drago… do you remember the name that was given to the first Backwing with red scales?"_ He said with a knowing smile.

_"You think?"_ Drago asked, surprised to which her brother nodded.

_"Yes, I'm thinking it would be appropriate for her."_ Sunset replied.

Finally, finished with her thoughts, she lowered her head down towards the small red hatchling and gently licked her head while whispering.

_"Welcome to Dragvalley, my little Draigar. My precious Fire Crystal."_


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Mysteries of Nature**

_"Don't fall behind, kids!"_ Drago called out for her fidgeting children when Miracle stopped by a large stump and started scratching her back and neck.

The afternoons during the springtime were the perfect time for Drago to let her brood out of the cave. It wasn't too hot and the cool breeze was pleasant on the scales, not to mention they already started getting a little cramped up inside the cave. So why not let them run around a bit, flex their legs and let loose the energy they accumulated over the days?

_"I'm first!"_ Edar called out as he started running off.

_"No, I'm first!"_ Miracle said teasingly as she overtook her older brother and both started running around the area, racing each other to their heart's content.

Meanwhile however, between the bulky legs of their mother flashed a small sparkling red light with iridescent purple curls. It was Draigar, and she was playing with her mother's huge paws, giggling and laughing. She was a small but a restless hatchling, and always strove to escape from her mother's maternal care and play with someone.

The games with her brother and sister already started to bore her, since everyone knew the weakness of the other. And although Draigar was the calmest of the three, just like all hatchlings of her age, she needed to frolic a bit. After all, sitting inside of a dark and damp cave all day sounded quite boring for the little one.

It was then that a light breeze blew through the fluffy mane of the tiny Backwing, letting her small curls sail on the wind as she giggled.

_"Awesome!"_ Draigar said with a smile on her face.

The breeze lightly tickled her peculiar snout, even managing to get into her small ears. But it was a very pleasant feeling, one that is familiar to every Backwing ever since their hatching; A feeling of freedom.

It was enough for the little Draigar to start daydreaming about soaring into the sky and fly around with her mother and siblings. But her wings were not strong enough to fly just yet, and besides if they were, she is still too small to travel on her own. Even with the hatchlings of her age.

The family walked along a wide forestry trail which was made by the feet of many other Backwings, it was a nice spot to burn off excess energy, for both adults and hatchlings alike. One other thing to note here, was that there were butterflies flying around. Their wings shimmered in the rays of the Bright Circle, from a blooming purple to a glittering yellow, they were like pretty flying flowers enhancing the trail's beauty.

One of the butterflies captivated Draigar's cute and curious eyes as it landed right on her snout, as if it was captivated by her odd nose. The small Backwing blinked in curiosity and wonder as the inquisitive insect slowly crawled on her snout, tickling the soft, undeveloped scales with its prickly legs.

The pollen from the shimmering wings was drawn into young hatchling's nose as its light texture started to tickle and irritate the hatchling's receptors. Draigar made a slightly uncomfortable face as she tried to rub the itch inside of her body without using her paws, that in turn made it worse until…

_"Ahchoo!"_

She sneezed and promptly fell back on her tail. It was an unpleasant experience but the annoying insects were so beautiful that any Backwing, or more precisely, any hatchling or child would want to play with those flying, fluttering flowers.

The small red Backwing looked around and saw a rather large moth. A happy smile crept up on her face as she playfully crouched down to the ground, slowly crawled up to the insect before pouncing on it.

The insect however, wasn't too keen on playing with a restless hatchling so as Draigar leaped at it, it quickly flew off and landed on another blade of grass. The hatchling was not satisfied and tried again as this time, the moth decided enough was enough and rapidly flew deeper into the thicket of the woods.

Draigar for her part, ran after it. Giggling to herself as she was enjoying her time. However when she saw the large, tall trees, she stopped and cocked her head to the side as she curiously looked at them.

This part of the forest was full of wonder and unexplored spots, it was perfect to satisfy the curiosity of a Backwing hatchling, and Draigar was no exception as she so wanted to find out what was hiding in this dense part of the forest.

But then she looked back to where her mother was, surely she can't just run off without her permission, and what then? Mom would be worried sick trying to find her precious child.

So the little red hatchling had to choose between spending the rest of the day in a dark cave, or explore the vastness that was before her, the choice was very obvious and a no brainer. With a curious smile, Draigar leaned forward and ran off into the dense woods.

The ray of the Bright Circle penetrated through the dense canopy above her, illuminating the patches of shadow which gave the forest a mysterious and wondrous look. It also teamed with life, particularly small feathered flyers that filled it with their clicking and vocalizations, and while normally at night this would have been scary. During the day, it was just one of the signs that the forest was alive.

Draigar herself was fully into exploring as she hopped over the small stones and fallen branches, this place was indeed wonderful. Then her eyes caught the sight of a couple of bugs and ants that were moving around in a hurry to catch the spring's warm rays. She decided to follow one of them and once she walked through the bushes, there it was.

A huge anthill, teaming with life as the ants came and went from it's top. She looked at it wide eyed, she had never seen such a thing before. '_Whoa… only my dad is bigger than this nest.' _the red hatchling thought to herself as she looked to the top of the tower which was almost full with ants.

Curiosity is the first thing a hatchling experiences when it sees something new. And Draigar was no exception as she quickly took her opportunity and started climbing to the very top of the anthill. Her paws, though small to her, were massive to the insects as they mercilessly stepped on the walls of their sand castle.

Once Draigar was on the top, she felt pride, smiling wide as she flared out her wings and took on a proudly standing pose. She felt like she was a queen, she overcame the first challenge in her life, however the daydream didn't last as the red hatchling opened her eyes in pain, as tears started forming and she looked down at what was causing it.

It was the ants. The colony didn't take kindly to her partially wrecking their home, and they weren't going to leave the hatchling's act unpunished as they started swarming to her legs and plunged their tiny stingers into them. The hatchling's undeveloped scales did little to stop the tiny needle-like stings as the ants injected their harmless but painful acidic venom under her skin.

_"Mommy!"_ Draigar yelped out in pain as she quickly jumped off the anthill and in her panic, bolted into the bushes that headed deeper into the woods. The ants thankfully were brushed off her paws by the leaves and branches and they retreated to repair the damage done to their castle.

The small red hatchling sobbed a bit as her stung paws and side hurt and she had to wonder why were they so mean to her, though after several minutes, the pain was finally gone and she resumed her explorations. In fact she was so absorbed by it that the deeper she went into it, the less she thought of her mother's reaction when she would realize that her precious child is missing.

In fact, Draigar didn't care right now of the scolding she would receive, she had only one goal in mind; to explore this forest. However she didn't realise that a few steps away from her, there was a stranger.

The rustling foliage made her jump a bit before the small red hatchling's curiosity overpowered the sense of danger and she looked at what was causing the bush to rustle. Once she did, she saw a backwing, peacefully munching on berries and small bugs that it caught with it's thick beak.

And that is when Draigar noticed that the Backwing was very odd, there were no horns or crest on its head, and the wings were attached to its front paws. Curiosity once again overtook the red hatchling as she approached the creature.

_"Hi!"_ Draigar said in a happy tone.

But the creature didn't hear her, it was busy eating its meal. However once the creature ate all of the berries, it looked up and started to slowly climb up the tree trunk to get to the young leaf shoots up on one of the branches, it's sharp claws on arms and legs were the perfect climbing tools. However the red hatchling was more surprised by its tail. It was long and very thin, almost like a whip with a small tassel on it's tip.

The creature hesitated and Draigar was able to touch the tail, and lightly pulled on it to get the creature's attention. But the creature was so immersed in the search of food that it didn't even notice that the little red hatchling climbed onto its tail as it resumed it's climb.

The little red hatchling clung to the stranger's tail as she dangled above ground, and once she looked down, she realized she was quite high up in the air. Meanwhile the creature started munching on the young leaves, paying no attention to the fact that its tail suddenly got a bit heavy with an uninvited guest.

Panic came into Draigar's mind. What if the creature would climb higher? How would she get back to the ground? It was then, during those fearful thoughts that a small pink colored creature flew by her at fast speeds, it was almost the same as the larger one. The smaller creature landed on the back of the stranger and then looked at the hatchling with a slightly surprised and cute expression on its beak.

_"Dad! We have a gatecrasher!"_ Giggled the small winged creature.

The stranger turned his large beak and looked at the young female hatchling, who was shivering in fear as she clutched his tail, holding on for her dear life. But the heights were not the only factor for her fear, for those creatures didn't resemble Backwings at all! A narrow elongated head, a thin short neck that entered into a white collar, and huge white eyes. All of it pointed to the fact that they were a completely different type of animal all together.

The fear gripped her heart so much, that Draigar didn't even notice that she was losing her grip on the tail before…

_"Ahhh!"_ The little red hatchling yelled out as she her grip loosened and she started falling face first, she closed her eyes and awaited the pain from falling to the ground, but it didn't come, and her fall came to an abrupt halt.

Once she opened her eyes, she saw that the stranger was actually holding her tail in his beak, thus saving her from a potentially deadly fall… or potentially having her for a meal, after all she did see that the creature was hungry.

But as Draigar helplessly dangled upside down, the stranger flew down and then let go of her tail once her small feet were on the ground. Draigar started to run away in panic, but then something stopped her, a conflicting feeling. Why didn't they eat her? Moreover they saved her… so they can't be bad. So she turned around and shyly approached the stranger.

It was then that the large male spoke, _"Draigar, why did you run so far away from your mother?"_

_"H-how do you know me?"_ Draigar asked with a look of surprise on her face.

_"We know a lot about you,"_ Said the smaller creature as she landed near the red hatchling and wrapped her small tail around the tip of the larger creature's tail and sat on it like it was her personal perch. _"After all, we are your friends."_

_"Friends? But… who are you? You don't even look like Backwings!"_

There was a chuckle to Draigar's little outburst, _"No, little one. We aren't Backwings, we are Flyers."_

_"Flyers? Who are they?"_ Draigar asked, curiously cocking her head to the right a bit.

_"They are Earthstompers, but they can fly."_ Explained the small pink flyer, _"We are similar to Backwings but we don't have wings on our backs."_ She raised her small paws for emphasis, and indeed, the membrane connected right to the front arms. Almost like the Twofeet but with one minor detail and that is that the front paws could be used to grab stuff… while Twofeet can't.

That fact alone, fascinated Draigar to no end as she seriously looked over the small pink flyer.

_"Well, who are you?"_ Draigar then shook her head a bit, _"I mean… Flyers have names, right?"_

The small pink flyer chuckled, _"Yes, we do! My name is Rosellyn, but please, call me Rosy."_ She smiled before she turned her small head to the large flyer, _"And this is my dad."_ As she said it, the large flyer leaned his head down and rubbed his wide beak on her head as Draigar let out a soft purr.

_"My name is Rinkus, but to you… I guess you can call me Uncle Rinkus._" The flyer smiled softly.

_"Uncle Rinkus."_ Draigar replied as she bravely walked up to the large flyer, but she didn't notice a small stone under her feet, and tripped.

Rinkus to the rescue as he reacted quickly and put his beak forward, preventing Draigar from getting hurt a second time in the past couple of minutes. The red hatchling just laid there on his beak like it was her favorite sleeping spot in the cave, and then she looked straight into the large flyer's eyes.

She just found a new friend, two new friends and she was very happy. She looked into the eyes of her savior as if she was watching the beautiful stars in the night sky.


	5. Chapter 4

**Edit: Added the name of the music before the song in ****parentheses() at the request of the author.**

**Author's/Translator's note: Hey everyone, sorry for the delay of the ****chapter as me and The Rhombus had to translate a song and due to irl stuff of both parties, it had to be delayed a bit. But here is chapter 4 and as usual, Speech in Italics is Backwing language. Enjoy.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Outcast among her own.**

"_So… why did you run away from your mom?"_ Rosy asked with a confused expression. This, in turn, put Draigar in an uneasy situation.

"_Oh… I… erhm…"_

"_She just decided to find out what the forest hid behind it's mysterious nature, right?"_ Rinkus replied as he lowered his head to his daughter.

"_Wait… Dad, does aunt Drago knows that she is missing?"_ Rosy asked a bit concerned.

The Flyer lifted his head and looked at Draigar with the slightest hint of mistrust. The small Backwing hatchling realized her guilt and lowered her small head down, as she looked at the ground and rarely looked back at Rinkus trying to gauge his reaction.

She felt very ashamed of her actions, after all she ran away from her mother's cave without even thinking of how worried sick she would be. And now Rinkus will bring her home, she knew… she is in for a punishment once they get home. She carefully lifted her gaze off the ground when she noticed that the flyer gently lowered his head.

"_How about we show you the forest?"_ The reply from the Flyer completely dumbstruck the red hatchling, as she fully expected to receive a harsh punishment and not a tour of the forest. Happy and elated Draigar started bouncing around the Flyer as she happily wagged her long tail.

"_Yes, yes!" _She replied with a big smile on her face. Though Rosy once carefully thought out this idea, decided to ask a very important question.

"_What about aunt Drago, Dad?"_ The pink Flyer whisper into her dad's ear, "_We should bring her back home now."_

"_Don't worry sweetheart."_ Rinkus calmly replied, "_We will say that we just wanted to show Draigar the valley. It would be way better than her running off again."_

"_Alright, but not too long."_ Rosy replied.

The adult Flyer stepped forward and beckoned the two girls after him, which the duo took in stride as the ran after the adult Flyer, catching up with him. After a couple of minutes, they entered a lighter part of the forest where the scene completely changed. The green vegetation slowly changed to pink and blue, and in some areas it was orange or yellow. Gone were the usual flowers and in their places grew wonderful looking leaves, like the Wingleaves, Spikeleaves and Horn Flowers.

As Rosy and Draigar marveled at the surrounding area, tiny Backwings emerged from under the leaves. Those were Leafhiders and Splashers, several of the most tiniest inhabitants of the valley.

"_Wow! So beautiful!" _Draigar called out with a huge smile. She then ran up in-front of Rinkus, "_Why are the leaves aren't green here?" _she asked with a curious expression.

"_They are that way thanks to the tiny Backwings that live in up there."_ Rinkus replied as he pointed his claw at one of the leaves just as a Leafhider peaked out it's small head, then quickly darted back into hiding once it realized it was being watched. "_They don't like it when everything is one color."_ he chuckled a bit.

The red Backwing hatchling listened intently and with great enthusiasm to what Rinkus had to say, Draigar wanted to know everything; How did grass grow? Why did Leafhiders live on Trees? Why does water falls unto her head? Everything she saw, she wanted to know everything about it. But as Rinkus was explaining something else to her…

**Growl… **

"_What was that?"_ Rosy asked, a bit on edge since the sound might have very well come from a predator, when the growl repeated itself and she walked up to its source. And it came from Draigar's stomach.

"_Dad! I think our small Backwing is hungry!" _

"Do you want to eat, little one?" Rinkus asked the young Backwing and she nodded, "Stay with her, Rosy. I'll bring you both some black sweet bubbles." And with one flap of his wings, he disappeared into the canopy.

In his absence, the girls passed their time by playing a friendly game of tag with each other. However no matter how hard Rosy tried to run away from Draigar, her flying membranes got in the way of her gait and thus she stumbled and fell on the ground multiple times. The run of a two-legged Flyer couldn't even compare to the agility and grace of a four-legged one. However Draigar allowed herself to be tagged several times, and sometimes for the fun of it, she pretended as right before Rosy could tag her, she jumped away from her and ran to the other side of the field.

Though excessive running finally caught up to them as both became dizzy and didn't even notice that they fell over unto the soft grass, then looked at one another, and giggled happily, signaling the end of their game.

"_Rosy?"_ Draigar called out to her friend.

"_Yeah?"_

"_Who are… Ear-th-stom-pers?"_ The Backwing hatchling barely managed to get out a new word.

"_Well… they are…"_ Rosy took on a pondering expression as she tried to put words together on how to explain it to the small Backwing. "Imagine Backwings, but without wings."

"_Without wings?"_ Draigar replied in surprise at this fact.

"_Mhm."_ Rosy nodded, "_Earthstompers live out their entire lives on the ground, without ever taking to the skies." _She described them not by her own experience, since she lived her entire life among Backwings, she had to use her father's stories of them as her guide. "_But, even though they can't fly, they are special in their own right."_

"_How?"_ Draigar asked as she laid down more comfortably as she listened intently what her friend had to say.

"_Well… for example, Longnecks have long necks, Swimmers can swim really good, Spiketails have huge spikes on their tails. And there are also Threehorns, though my dad said that they too prideful. And then there are also Sharpteeth, they only eat meat so they hunt other kinds." _Rosy explained, and for a moment she thought that this might be too much information.

"_Wow! There is so much in the world to explore!"_ The Backwing hatchling replied, however as she looked around, she noticed one key detail, "_Uncle Rinkus hasn't came back…"_

"_Maybe my dad decided to get more tasty treat for us, don't worry." _Rosy calmly replied.

And so the two waited for the Flyer to return, enjoying the calm and peaceful clearing until a rustling noise erupted from behind them, and then…

"_Hey! This is our thicket!"_ Called out a young blue Backwing as he emerged from the tall Thickgrass. "_Get lost!"_

"_Don't order me what to do, small fry!"_ Rosy roared out with a frown on her face.

"_Said by a small fry herself!"_ Came another voice and suddenly, four more a bit younger Backwings emerged behind the blue one.

"_This is a public territory, Argon! You have no right to command us what to do here!"_ Rosy growled back, however, she was more worried for Draigar, she was just a newborn, barely two weeks old… no way she can defend herself against those bullies who were already around two seasons old.

However Argon knew well the behavior of those children that sought to protect the younger siblings, so his gaze quickly shifted to Draigar… and his expression changed since he never saw a red Backwing before.

"_Yo, guys! Check this out! A Red Backwing!"_ He called out to his gang.

"_Whoa! I never seen those before!"_

The gang quickly surrounded the duo and started examining their new discovery as they whispered to one another, and snickered a bit.

"_Hold up! What in the Strong Wind's name is on her nose?"_

"_Possibly a sting from a Stinging Buzzer."_

The dumb joke made it's mark as the five Backwing started laughing uncontrollably.

"_Look at her eyes!"_

"_Holy molly, that's a Bright Circle there!"_

"_My dad said not to look at it for too long, otherwise you'll go blind!"_

"_Don't look at her!"_

Even a couple of tasteless jokes were enough to cause Draigar's eyes to well up with tears as she nervously tapped her beak on Rosy's back, begging for them to just leave. But the small flyer knew they couldn't break out, since they were surrounded. But her Backwing friend needed protection before those bullies would do something more rougher than just a couple of jokes.

So, pulling all her will into her palms, Rosy gave Argon a hard shove which forced him to back off for a bit.

"_What's the matter, Rosy?" _Argon asked with venom.

"_You may tease me, you may pester me! But you have no right to humiliate my friend!"_

"_Her?" _Argon pointed his claw at Draigar before laughing hard, "_That small thing with burning eyes? That's a first I had seen a freak like her! Best for her not to even approach us, otherwise I'll just drown her!"_

That was it, Rosy snapped. Since she was little she suffered beatings and bullying from those stupid braggarts, but humiliating her friend was the limit of her patience that she could muster against them. With a piercing cry of battle, she leapt at Argon and latched her tiny but sharp claws into his snout.

Argon yelped out in pain and surprise as he started bucking and kicking, trying to get the small Flyer off his snout, but her claws dug in quite well so she wasn't thrown off, so as a last resort he roughly rubbed his head against the ground, and the pain that was on Rosy's back, caused her to cry out in pain before letting go of the hated bully's snout.

Then Argon, pressed his paw against Rosy's body and let out a low growl, blood started to form where the flyer scratched him. "_Before your daddy flew in here, everything was nice and good in Dragvalley! But as soon as he came, misfortunes crashed down upon us! So… I'll make sure we are even…"_ He raised his paw, ready to dig his claws into the helpless Flyer.

But then two large raspberry colored legs descended to the ground with a loud thud as an angry looking adult flyer glared down upon his daughter's bullies. Before he quickly snapped his beak near Argon as he jumped back and looked terrified.

"_You harm my daughter, and I'll show you that I can eat more than just sweet bubbles…"_ Rinkus' low and threatening tone, as well as implications what he will do to those brats was enough for the bullies to run away in terror.

"_We'll settle this! I swear!" _Argon yelled back as he disappeared into the bushes.

Rinkus snorted before his expression softened and he leaned down to help Rosy up. "_You alright, dear?"_

"_Yeah, dad, I'm fine…" _She replied as she dusted herself, "_Just a small bruise, check on Draigar, please."_

As Rinkus walked up to the red Backwing hatchling, he could see that she was lying down on her side, curled up into a tight ball of fear from the larger younglings, and thus didn't want to get out. It took Rinkus several taps with his beak at her wing for her to finally uncurl and she sat up… but she arched her back and lowered her head down as she quietly sobbed with her tail between her tiny legs.

"_I'm different, aren't I?"_ Draigar managed to speak out thought her sobs.

"_Oh, don't pay them any attention, little one." _Rinkus sift replied as he lowered himself more and gently rubbed his beak against Draigar's snout. _"Large ones always insult those who are smaller than them."_

"_B-but he… He called me a freak!" _Draigar sobbed and she rubbed her tiny paws to rub away the tears from her eyes. "_Why am I red? And why my eyes are like that? If I was a different color… they would have left me alone."_

The little Backwing thought, nothing good had come out of this day even with Rinkus and Rosy trying to cheer her up. She just didn't understand why she was so different, and that upset her to no end.

Soon day started to slowly turn to night as the Bright Circle started to set behind the mountain wall. With the ideas exhausted on how to cheer up Draigar and make her smile at least for a moment, they finally took her home to her mother. Drago was ready to deliver swift punishment for the stunt of running away, however once she saw her child in tears, she decided against it and sent her to join her brother and sister at the nest.

However the duo quickly turned from trying to calm their sibling to the fact that there were two strangers in their cave.

"_Mom? Who's this?"_ Edar asked with surprise as both he and his sister Mira looked over the two flyers.

"_This is Rinkus and his daughter Rosy, he is a friend of the family. Don't worry, they won't harm you."_ Drago replied softly, "_They don't have a cave of their own so they'll stay the night with us."_

Rinkus smiled with gratitude as Drago started settling her hatchlings into their nest for the night. However while almost everyone were able to fall asleep, poor little Draigar couldn't, she tossed and turned not being able to nap, all the while sobbing to herself.

However the adult flyer couldn't sleep either, not because the sobs of little Draigar, but because of the pain she was feeling… the same feeling he felt in his childhood. Like her, he wasn't like the rest of his kind, he hatched special and because of it, he experienced a lot of abuse from others. Until the day he found Drago, his best and dear friend.

But he didn't want for the little Backwing to repeat his own past, to feel ostracized from her flock, to be forced out to find her own way. He wanted a normal life for Draigar and thus, he couldn't sleep, not until he figured out a way to prevent history from repeating itself.

Finally, in the middle of the night, he finally came up with a solution and slowly stood up, trying not to wake up his daughter and slowly walked up to the sleeping amethyst colored female before gently shaking her shoulder, waking her up from her sleep.

"_Mmmmrrr?" _Drago opened her eyes and saw Rinkus, still groggy she didn't understand why he would wake her up in the middle of the night but before she could ask, the flyer asked first.

"_Drago? Would you allow me to talk with your daughter, alone?"_ Rinkus asked in a quiet and hushed tone not to wake the sleeping children..

"_Why? It's the middle of the night… can't it wait until tomorrow?" _Drago replied quietly as she laid her head back down unto her nest.

"_It's better right now. Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on her." _Rinkus said, and his voice was somewhat pleading. Drago slowly glanced to her restless daughter who was quietly sobbing. Knowing his past and his childhood, she nodded her head but give a stern look saying to keep an eye on her, and don't let her run away before the large amethyst female drifted back into sleep.

The flyer didn't have much trouble coaxing Draigar out of the cave, in fact, the small Backwing wanted to leave the cave, since it kept being a constant reminder of her sadness. Once outside she felt the breeze of the cold night and shivered a bit before she quickly hid herself among the flyer's wings, the membrane rich in blood vessels did wonders to warm her up.

"_Where are we going?" _Draigar asked curiously. But the flyer just kept walking into the dark night, so she didn't have much of a choice but to follow him and keep herself warm under his wing.

"_Do you know why your scales are red?" _Rinkus asked as he walked slowly and steadily to make sure the little one could keep up.

"_No… I don't…"_ Draigar replied a bit shyly and sad, after all she didn't know how to answer that question, not to mention the incident with the bullies only made her feel ashamed of her color.

Suddenly the flyer stopped and sat down, making himself comfortable on the soft grass as he lifted his head up and looked at the twinkling stars on the night's sky. Draigar, to avoid the coldness of the night, huddled up to the flyer and looked up as well. The stars were very beautiful, one even more prettier than the last. It was then that Rinkus pointed his clawed finger at one of them.

"_There, see?" _He said as Draigar saw that he was pointing at the brightest star in the night sky, "_It 'doesn't look pretty', does it?"_

For a moment, the small backwing was confused, surely he was pointing at other, very plain star but after looking more closely, he was indeed pointing at the brightest one.

"_No, I believe it is the most beautiful one!" _The small Backwing disagreed.

"_Then look closer, do you see any other stars like her?"_ Rinkus asked and Draigar looked carefully at the sky, trying to spot another star.

"_No."_ She shook her head, "_There are no stars like her."_

"_And yet she has to endure when other stars humiliate her."_ Rinkus replied, "_After all, earthly creatures began to admire her beauty so much that other stars started to envy her, calling her unworthy to shine among the heavens. But, when hope dies and we know nothing but despair, she becomes our guiding star, which guides us to hope. The others may insult her, and make bad rumors about her… but she has more light and faith than any other."_

A small breeze flew by them, the wind dancing among the glass blades as if a small, mischievous spirit was playing with them, creating a small melody.

**(Compass - Two Steps from Hell)**

**Rinkus: **_**Loneliness is getting strong, **_

_**People say - "You have to go", **_

_**And you feel you don't belong, **_

_**To the world, you were so long. **_

_**Any friend is hard to find, **_

_**But if your heart is very kind, **_

_**The ones who look inside it, **_

_**They will see the light beside it.**_

_**Alone; a cruel word**_

_**Not seen, not heard,**_

_**Rejected by one and all.**_

_**But know that they are quite wrong:**_

_**You are different, and none are like you are.**_

_**Trust me, you'll go far,**_

_**So recite your song.**_

_**And repeat with me:**_

_**You must now open your eyes:**_

_**Let it be... not need to cry!**_

_**Be proud of your crimson scales,**_

_**For no one but you can live your tale!**_

_**Your way is hard to find**_

_**A hidden sign,**_

_**And easy to lose it.**_

_**But your path is kept by a light**_

_**It hides so deep within your valiant heart**_

_**From you, never to part**_

**Draigar:** _**And where's this light?**_

**Rinkus:** _**Hidden from your sight.**_

Rinkus then pointed at her chest with a smile.

_**It's the heart that lights your soul,**_

_**Inner light that keeps you whole.**_

_**And it speaks to you inside,**_

_**Leading the right way against the tide.**_

He sang so sincerely that his voice transformed from a hoarse one to a very gentle baritone. Draigar looked up at him with a large smile, the adult Flyer could see the vigor returning back to her, the sadness vanishing before his very eyes. So he reached out and took her into his arms before placing her on his shoulder and taking off into the sky with one flap of his powerful wings.

The small Backwing's smile became even more happier as they flew above the ground on the low altitude, but for her, she felt as if they were flying straight at the stars. Draigar reached out her paw and felt the gentle light of the stars dance on her scales.

**Duet: **_**It sings in your beating heart,**_

_**Will lead you, and not depart.**_

**Draigar:** _**It will never lead astray.**_

_**Like Compass, you're showing me my way.**_

After a short flight in the night sky, Rinkus landed on a small hill before he lowered his wing for the Backwing hatchling to hop to the ground. Once Draigar gracefully landed on her four feet, she looked up at the Flyer with a smile.

"_Thank you, uncle Rinkus!" _She said with a happy smile and a wagging tail, gone was the sadness of the day and Rinkus could see the enthusiasm returning to the small hatchling. "_This was so awesome!"_

The adult Flyer couldn't help but smile, in fact this was the first time he actually let someone ride on his back, but the smile was not only because his niece was the first one to ride on his back, but also the fact that Draigar was smiling again. He was about to start leaving with her back to the cave…

When suddenly he felt a wave of dread wash over him, he knew this feeling very well, the feeling of a prey being watched. All those years traveling in the Mysterious Beyond taught him many valuable lessons, one of which was; when you feel like someone was watching you, it's best to carefully look around.

The night was too dark to see anything, but the adult flyer still had his hearing and his nose. Then a rustling noise quickly make his head quickly turn to the thorny bushes a bit below the hill, and with some starlight, he noticed something moving inside of it.

"_Stay close, Draigar." _Rinkus warned the small Backwing as he shielded her with his wing.

The flyer's eyes were narrowed on the bushes, all the while he slowly backed away, nudging the youngling to follow him. All the while, Draigar looked confused as to why they are going home in that manner, when her ears perked up as she heard another sound, this time it was less the rustling of leaves and more sounded like gnashing of teeth.

Rinkus crouched down and shielded Draigar fully as the sound suddenly stopped, and for several seconds, an eerie silence descended on the duo, before suddenly a snake-like creature bolted out of the thorny bushes, Rinkus was about to fight when suddenly he saw that the snake actually had four small, lizard-like legs and two very tiny wings on it's back.

"_Stingtooth!"_ The Flyer yelled out.

But the flyer wasn't able to reach quickly enough before he was slammed and pinned to the ground by a strong serpentine body as the Stingtooth let out a hiss and Rinkus was face to face with a mouth that was dripping with thick and disgusting saliva. The beast bared its teeth out, exposing them out of its putrid gums, and the smell that came from them would have been enough to make Rinkus vomit.

But that's not what worried him, rather the pairs of extra long fang on the upper and lower jaw, as he saw a putrid orange liquid drip from their tips. There was a reason why those Backwings were called Stingteeth, and that was because they had a poisonous bite, in fact, one bite would be enough to make sure that their victim would meet a painful death.

However the Stingtooth's eyes went away from Rinkus and zeroed in on the helpless Draigar as the tiny backwing started to tremble in the face of the beast. The predator slowly stretched its neck, getting into it's attack pose as it savored the kill it was about to make. Draigar closed her eyes as the beast was about to deliver the fatal bite into her fragile body.

When suddenly the Stingtooth let out a screech as a massive tail collided with its body and sent it flying off of Rinkus and back into the bushes before crashing into them with a thud. When the Flyer looked at who saved them, it was Drake, and he was not very happy as he took an aggressive stance, shielding both Rinkus and Draigar from future attacks.

The Stingtook shook its head, getting ready to fight whoever was standing in the way of its prey, but once its eyes laid on a large growling softhead, it realized that it wasn't a fight it could win, so as fast as its legs could carry it, the predator hastily disappeared into the foliage as Drake snorted in anger.

"_Thanks, Drake…" _Rinkus said with gratitude as he slowly stood up, but before he could check if Draigar was alright, the larger Backwing had other ideas.

"_Why are you outside of the cave?"_ Drake growled as he quickly turned his angry gaze at the Flyer, "_Do you realize the gravity of this? You both could have been killed! My daughter could have been killed!" _He yelled out the last sentence in anger.

"_I'm sorry… It won't happen again."_ Rinkus replied in an apologetic voice.

"_No, it won't."_ Drake affirmed with a light growl, "_Home, now!"_

And on that note, Drake started leading the duo back to the cave, with Rinkus in the very back and Draigar in the middle. It was then that Draigar decided to ask a question.

"_Uncle Rinkus?"_ She whispered quietly, not to make her dad even angrier than he already was, and once the Flyer lowered his head, she continued. "_Where did the Sting-tooth go?"_

"_I don't know… but perhaps behind the Great Wall…" _Rinkus whispered back, but he wasn't quiet enough as Drake's sensitive ears picked up the conversation, and a single, angry snarl was enough to shut down any future conversations.

With the adventures of the day now behind them, they safely returned to their cave and fell asleep.

* * *

None of the younglings knew what lurked behind the Great Walls of Dragvalley. Adults often talked about strange Backwings that ambushed and killed unsuspected travelers that tried reaching Dragvalley's safety, in fact, there was a legend about a land close to Dragvalley. It was said that at one point, this land was just as fertile and lush as the Valley itself, but it's residents envied Dragvalley's residents that they were more protected, and that the lands of the valley were more fertile than their own. What happened next was that the residents of those lands, orchestrated an attack on the valley when the Night Circle just settled beyond the horizon, leaving the valley blind for a brief amount of time.

When the Bright Circle appeared to greet the Dragvalley's residents, all it saw was but a scorched earth and bloodshed, the attackers didn't discriminate, be is an adult or a youngling, it was a massacre. In retribution for the unprovoked attack on it's children, the Bright Circle cursed the lands of the attackers, turning them into a lifeless and barren wasteland where nothing could grow, and in order not to see the ugly sight, the lands were covered in dark stormy clouds, leaving it in total and cold darkness.

Ever since that day, those lands became known as The Forbidden Lands, and no one, even the most bravest of Backwings would ever dare to fly over that land. Rumors of monsters and lifesucking beasts emerged, creatures of terrible power and without mercy. It was hard to say if those rumors were true or not, but in Dragvalley there is one Softhead who miraculously survived his encounter with a true terror that lurked in the Forbidden Lands, but the Backwing lost his sanity soon after and became a recluse.

But even if eternal darkness reigned over those lands, life for it's ruthless inhabitants went on as usual, and the Stingtooth that attacked Rinkus and Draigar knew very well about it, it was heading deeper and deeper into the Forbidden Lands, paying very close attention to every sound which could be his last one before one of the predators would clamp down their jaws on his body.

As it made its way to the other end of the dark forest, a new obstacle came before him: Swallowing Sands. They were a deadly trap made by the Bright Circle in order to make the land even more dangerous and inhospitable, one wrong step and they would swallow anyone whole. The Stingtooth carefully and hurriedly slithered in between the pits of sand, though he came close to slipping into one of them.

Finally with the Swallowing Sands behind it, the Stingtooth slipped into a barely visible path, leading to the Black Mountains, thankfully it can take a breath of relief, most of the larger beasts were scared away by the scent markers of a very large Backwing that lived in those same foreboding mountains.

Finally, he reached the cliffs of the Black Mountains, where with great imparience, he was being expected by a female Flyer. The Stingtooth humbly lowered its head in a bowing motion.

"_Missstresss… Grap did what you asssked." _The teenage Stringtooth hissed with a disgusted tone, "_Grap knowsss, knowsss…"_

"_Well done, Grap," _The female flyer replied, "_Now… what Grap found out?"_

"_Three… and one." _Grap replied, to which the female Flyer frowned a bit.

"_Three and one, what? Four?" _

"_No, missstresss… Three."_

The female's eye twitched a bit, "_Speak clearly you buffoon!"_ she ordered which caused Grap to flinch a bit.

"_Three hatchlingsss… And one is red."_ The teen Stingtooth hissed out.

"_Red?" _The female obviously wanted to hear more details than just a color, now she was obviously mad as she grabbed one of Grap's horns and shook him violently, "_What do you mean, you idiot?!"_

It was then that a calm female voice came from under dark overhanging rocks, it was too dark to see who or what was in there, but there was a powerful presence coming from the darkness. "_It means, that the prophecy is finally upon us._"

"_The Backwing of Fire?!"_ The female flyer asked in shock, could it be that time is now?

"_Yes, my dear."_ The female voice hissed out lightly, "_The time to make our move is now."_

The female flyer quickly snapped her head towards the teen Stingtooth's whose horn she was still holding, "_Where is that hatchling?!"_

"_Grap wanted to eat the hatchling… but a big foressst Backwing made Grap run away."_ The teen predator replied.

"_You idiot! I told you to just observe, not to kill!" _The female flyer growled out.

"_N-no, missstresss… Grap wanted to kill, but Grap couldn't…" _Grap replied with a flutter in his voice, "_May Grap be rewarded?"_

The female flyer gave a sideways glance at her spy, before finally letting go of his horn. The teen Stingtooth quickly sat up, stumbling a bit as he waited for his share of the food. But then, instead of tossing him a piece of juicy red meat, the female flyer yelled out into the darkness.

"_Thunderstorm!"_

What followed the female Flyer's call, was a terrible roar, as if the heavens themselves split asunder by Sky Fire. Then, from out of nowhere, a rather large Backwing climbed up unto the cliff. It looked at the female flyer with its fiery eyes, and as if reading her thoughts, didn't utter a single word before his eyes landed their gaze unto the teen Stingtooth.

And within seconds, the large Backwing opened his maw, revealing rows of its sharp teeth before clamping its jaw on the Stingtooth's neck. Grap yelped out and tried to bite the monster but his fangs couldn't even reach his opponent.

"_Missstress… Y-you… you promisssed!" _The teen Stingtooth called out in fear as he started to coil his body around, trying to get his neck free from the Backwing's jaws, but the monster's teeth and bite held him in place, it was then that he started to choke on his own blood.

Meanwhile the female Flyer contently watched the bloody job the Backwing was doing to the teen Stingtooth, it was quite a pleasant sight for her to watch a helpless prey struggling helplessly as life slowly escaped Grap's body.

"_What you didn't know… is that I never keep my promises." _The female Flyer said before turning her back on the slaughter.

What followed was a loud and sickening crack as with a single lurch of his jaw, the large Backwing broke it's victim's neck as Grap's body went completely limp. The Backwing tossed the body up into the air before with a single chomp of his jaws, swallowed the Stringtooth whole.

"_They don't even realize, what we have in store for them."_ The female voice called out, "_Is everything prepared?"_

"_Yes, the pieces are in place. When do we start?" _The female flyer replied back.

"_When the time comes, I'll give you the signal. Be ready."_

In the fiery eyes of the large Backwing, there could be seen a reflection of a purple female flyer, and a blurry image of her accomplice. The cold eyes didn't even flinch when a strong wind descended on the cliffs, a sign of a bloody battle to come.


	6. Chapter 5

**Small Edit: Two sentences were in Leaf-eater language. Now it is sorted ;) **

* * *

**Chapter 5: "The Escape"**

A few days had passed as Spring slowly gave way to Summer. The Bright Circle lingered for a while in the heavens as it's rays saturated the ground with its life giving energy. The whole valley was covered by a soft green carpet of grass, even the Great Walls that protected the sanctuary were covered in a small layer of green moss.

The resentment for the bullying that Argon caused was already forgotten, but Draigar refused to leave the cave in fear that the bullies would again target her. The idea that she wasn't like everyone else didn't give her a single peace of mind, and while the story about the star that Uncle Rinkus told her helped a bit, she still didn't understand one thing; Why?

Why was she different? What was wrong with her? Was it because she was red or had different eyes? Or was it both? Sadly even asking her mother didn't yield any answers to her problem. Drago simply didn't know how to explain it to her daughter at such a young age that she was special.

But one day, Edar and Miracle finally managed to convince their younger sister to get out of the cave, swearing that they will protect her from offenders like Argon. So early in the morning, while Drago peacefully slept after a long and tiring night patrol, the trio snuck outside of the cave. The cool weather would never hurt, especially during the hot Summer. In addition, most other children were still asleep at this time, so they would be able to frolic without being disturbed.

"_Tag! You're it!"_ Mira called out as she bumped her wing into her brother's shoulder before bolting away from him.

"_Oh really? Not for long!"_ Edar said as he crouched down, swooshed his tail a bit before he bolted after his sisters, quickly gaining up on them. He touched Draigar with his wing before he jumped over her, showing her his tongue before bolting away from her.

"_I'm going to get you, Edar!"_ Draigar called out with a giggle as she chased after her brother and sister, completely throwing caution to the wind.

As the younglings kept running after one another, they didn't even realize how close they ended up to the woods. Realizing the opportunity for more games, Edar quickly hid from his sisters, darting behind a large tree as his sisters followed him in.

"_Three, four, five! We are going to find you!" _The two girls called out into the forest as they started looking for their brother.

With each step they went deeper and deeper into the thicket, completely missing Edar's hiding spot. With it the brown hatchling decided to quietly follow them, as he quickly darted from one large tree to the next.

Meanwhile as the girls looked for him, they also frolicked and played with each other, playfully and carefully grabbed at their ears, or their manes. They also bumped each other to the ground with playful shoves, they jumped over each other and were bumping their wings together. Without waiting for her little sister's next move, Mira quickly jumped away from her and then waited for her to approach her, wagging her tail a bit.

But Draigar completely lost her sense of surroundings, as she quickly turned towards Mira but then her paw stumbled over something. Losing her balance, the little red Backwing fell face first to the ground before looking at what tripper her.

Right before it disappeared into the bushes, she saw it was a clawed blue paw before the forest around them was rocked by a mocking and evil laughter. When it died down, a very unfriendly face appeared out of the bushes… it was Argon.

"_Hey, pipsqueaks! Finally decided to come out with your entire brood, eh?"_ As the half-yearing said that, Mira realized that Argon and his bullies actually watched them this entire morning, waiting for the right moment to strike.

"_That's none of your business, Argon! Besides, we are just walking." _Mira fired back as she covered her younger sister with her body.

"_Well… then who gave you permission to just wander into our turf?" _Argon asked in a gloating manner.

"_Neither of us want trouble, let us pass and we will leave."_ Mira replied sternly, narrowing her eyes on the larger Backwing.

"_And what if I don't? Then what?"_ Argon smirked as he shook his dark blue mane, "_Run and complain to your mommy?"_ He added with a tone of sarcasm.

"_Actually my dad… and we both get in trouble so, please. Let us through." _Mira stood her ground.

"_Fine… you can go." _Argon looked like he relented as he took a step to the right.

As Mira passed him, she hid away the confusion she was feeling, she held her head high and proudly as if she won a verbal fight and didn't even threw any extra glances his direction. Draigar meanwhile followed her sister, head low and with her tail close in between her legs, she just wanted to get out before something bad would happen, but as soon as Mira was far enough from Argon, the blue male quickly blocked Draigar's way.

"_But you are not going anywhere!" _Argon growled as he stared down straight into the red hatchling's yellow eyes, "_You still need to pay for scratches your friend gave me!"_

He raised his paw, ready to strike the defenceless hatchling as Draigar flinched and closed her eyes in fear. But the pain didn't come, instead, her brother who was hiding in the bushes, jumped out of them and tackled the bully to the ground as Argon fell with an audible thud.

The blue youngling growled as he stood up and shook off the dirt and small grains of sand before he pounced at the younger opponent, easily throwing Edar onto his back and then pinning him to the ground before biting down his forehead. Edar yelped out in pain but narrowed his eyes and started kicking his legs into Argon's belly, hoping to knock the larger youngling off of him, and while his still dull claws couldn't puncture the scales, they hurt like hell which caused Argon to let go and jump back, coughing slightly as he caught his breath.

"_You got off easy, pipsquak!" _Argon hissed out.

"_Don't you dare harass my sisters, scratched nose!" _Edar roared out before flaring up his nostrils.

The brown hatchling lowered his forward with a growl as a couple of Argon's gang started to snicker. Argon himself, if he wasn't covered in scales would have been red in the face with anger as he did the same as Edar. Then both leaped at the another, headbutting each other and locked eyes as they growled.

However unlike Edar's fuzzy head, Argon already had a pair of small crimson red horns, not to mention he was bigger and stronger than Edar. But the brown hatchling wasn't deterred, even when he felt his feet skid on the ground, he dug his claws into it. For his strength came from worry for his younger sisters, and revulsion at this smug and vile half-year youngling. So as he put his back into it, he actually started to push Argon back.

But before anyone could see the triumph of the underdog, one youngling from Argon's gang perked up his ears and got a serious look on his face, "_Wait… does anyone else hear this?"_

"_Grrr… What now?!"_ Argon growled out as he kept on headbutting with his opponent.

"_Some weird noise…" _The youngling replied as his ears twitched in all directions, trying to find the source of the sound.

As soon as the two fighting younglings saw that, all thoughts of a fight for dominance were long forgotten, even that young, their inner instincts told them to listen. And so they did, however, with their ears perked, they noted one very disturbing fact.

Everything was silent, there were no buzzer noises, no rustling of leaves, no distant sounds of other children playing, even the sounds of the wind had disappeared as an ominous sense of unexplained doom blanketed the valley. Suddenly Draigar's ears twitched a bit as they caught a new sound and she turned her head to the Great Wall, and with everyone else noticing that, they too started to look at it, even though it was barely visible through the tree canopy.

Even the adults who were down at the ravine of the valley also noted the eerie silence, along with the strange squawks and calls coming from behind the Great Wall, which slowly grew louder and louder.

With their keen eyes, the hatchlings noticed a lot of strange figures on the top of the mountains, and that they were growing in number with each passing moment. Then, as if an order was given, those figures hurled themselves off the mountains, before soaring up into the sky like a flying tidal wave as more of those flying creatures have emerged from behind the mountains.

Feeling danger, the hatchlings either lowered themselves to the ground, or started to slowly back away with their tails between their legs. Once the flying creatures came to a sufficient distance however, Draigar realized something… those creatures were Flyers. And then, came a screech. It was a call to battle.

As soon as the call came out from the large flock of the flyers, the hatchlings bolted for the safety of the forest as they tried to run away from unknown to them creatures, but then Mira turned her head around and saw that Draigar was still standing, as if hypnotized by the sight before her.

"_Run, Draigar!" _Mira yelled out but her younger sister still stood there, it was then that Edar ran past her and came up to Draigar's side.

"_Come on, sis!"_ Edar called out as he nervously circled around her, trying to get her attention but Draigar couldn't hear anything, all she did was stare at the approaching horde, mesmerized by their wings. The brown hatchling muttered something to himself before he gave his youngest sister a hard shove to her side which caused Draigar to fall on her back.

"_Wh-what? What's going on?!" _Draigar called out, finally snapped out of her stupor, before Edar nudged her flank with his head as he quickly got up.

"_Don't just stand there! Run!" _Edar yelled out as he pushed Draigar in the direction of the forest. "_Run and don't look back!"_

After a brief minute, the hoard of Flyers covered the Bright Circle with their wings as a black shadow of misery descended upon the valley. The large flock flew straight towards the adult defenders of the valley as the Backwings leapt up unto the air with their strong legs and with a single flap of their large wings, they were up in the sky, ready to fight for their lives.

But even with the Backwings' impressive size, the Flyers were not afraid, in fact they accelerated straight towards their goal, because they knew one thing the proud Backwings didn't, they had the numbers. As two flocks crashed into one another, the Flyers separated into smaller groups and then each group attacked a single Backwing. Using their sharp beaks and talons to attack the eyes, neck and the wing membrane with brutal efficiency.

The Backwings themselves used their paws and strong tails to knock away the Flyers, but for each flyer that fell down from their bones shattered two more came which were overwhelming the Backwing's defences. It was when the Backwing smacked one of the Flyers away with his paw, that another flyer drove its beak straight into the Backwing's neck before the mighty tail knocked the offender away, but once it did, a splash of crimson erupted from the wound and the mighty defender fell from the sky.

Some Backwings flew along the Great Mountains before turning their backs towards the cliffs and pushed their bodies against them while they were flying, as they tried to get the annoying pests off of their backs. They met with limited success as some Flyers were smeared against the cliffs, but for each one that fell another arose to take their place. Little by little, more of the airborne defenders fell to their deaths, that forced the Backwings to fight on the ground to avoid more casualties.

The Backwing children quickly scattered and ran in total panic, trying to hide in the forest while some went straight to the caves in hopes of getting protection from their parents. But neither method worked, those who were out in the open were quickly snached up by the Flyers and taken away into the sky as they cried out for their parents to save them. As for those that ran into the forest, the Flyers split into two groups as to the horror of the children, the Flyers were very adept as flying in between the thick trees and branches, but they didn't go in for the snatch, no… their job was to herd the hatchlings to the other side of the forest. And once the hatchlings arrived into a part of the forest they felt safe, the second group leaped out of their hiding places, baring out their hindlegs with sharp talons as they quickly snatched the helpless hatchlings and dragged them into the sky.

It was a coordinated mission on the Flyer's part, their goal was to capture as many hatchlings as possible while the main group distracts the adults, but even with the plan going smoothly, some Flyers were not very careful with snatching some hatchlings, as one of the Flyers flew up with a limp Backwing in his talons.

In the back of the fleeing hatchlings, Edar, Mira and Draigar were running for their lives, but once they heard the awaiting trap, they actually snuck into one of the bushes as the terrible monsters flew above them and didn't notice them, nor did they possibly care since they captured enough hatchlings and were ready to wrap up their mission and return home, besides their casualties were mounting.

As the trio ran out of their hiding spot, they saw a small light in the distance of the dense foliage of the forest, they immediately knew what it was. They were almost home! And on the plains the adults would notice them and they would be safe!

"_Come on! Just a little farther!"_ Edar said as the trio bolted towards the promised safety of their home. But the elated feeling of soon to be safe turned to horror when they heard a loud cracking of branches before one of the flying beasts landed in between them and their safety.

The Flyer looked at the trio with its evil, rage filled burning eyes that looked like an evil twin of a Bright Circle, time seemed to stand still for a moment as the Flyer focused his eyes squarely on Draigar as it slowly opened its beak, showing its bloodstained teeth which was followed a terrible gnashing of teeth as they rubbed against one another. This painful sound caused her to press her sensitive ears against her head but it didn't help. The sound seemed to pierce her skull but she then realized… she had nowhere to run.

The slightest dash into any direction and she will meet her end at the claws of this arm-winged beast, no it wasn't clear why she jumped back when she did, but moments later the Flyer darted his head forward, trying to grab her but his teeth missed her body… but instead they didn't miss her the tip of her right wing.

Draigar yelped out in pain and fear before the flyer violently jerked his head and a sickening crunch could be heard as the little red hatchling was thrown away from the beast. She unceremoniously landed on the ground with a thud, spinning over her axis several times before skidding to a halt on her back.

"_Draigar!"_ Mira and Edar yelled out as they were near her in an instant. The poor hatchling landed right at the base of one of the trees. But it wasn't something that Draigar paid attention to, what did have her attention was the sharp pain in her right wing.

As she opened her eyes and looked at her wing, her look took on an expression of shock and horror… the index of her right wing was bitten off by almost half! And crimson blood quickly oozed out of the wound, dripping on her yellow stomach and ran down her right side, staining the grass red.

Draigar shakily lifted her beak up to see a white, bloodstained beak which tip dripped with fresh blood as the Flyer used his tongue to lick away the remains, savoring the taste of his next to be kill. It was then that the little one heard something crunching as the predator was chewing something before it turned it's head to the side and spat something out.

It was her missing wing, it was then that pure horror dawned on Draigar, a part of her was three steps away from her, and not in its proper place, From the throat of the flyer there was a terrible, gurgling growl but for reasons she didn't know, she couldn't hear it. In fact, all sound has drowned out for her and everything turned into echoes.

She didn't understand why she was feeling like this, was it pain, fear, or both? But even in almost deafened and stunned state, she could hear the muffled growl of the flyer as it opened its beak, revealing rows of sharp teeth. It was then that she felt something warm drip down and saw that it was the blood from the Flyer's teeth… her own blood.

But the predator didn't finish his mission yet, as it pulled back its head, winding up for what looked like the killing blow... Then, with a growl, it opened its beak and aimed its teeth at Draigar's little body. The hatchling herself closed her eyes, thinking this was it before a deafening screech came to her ears and she snapped her eyes open.

To see Rinkus, tackling the flyer with such force that it knocked the predator away but the predator spread its wings and used its feet to skid to a stop. Not wasting any precious seconds, Rinkus grabbed the three hatchlings and proceeded to run away, the predator screeched out in anger and rage before running after the raspberry colored flyer.

After Rinkus escaped the thicket, he spread his wings and flew straight to Drago's cave, as he gazed back, he saw that the predatory Flyer was quickly closing the distance between them! _'Come on… please… make it!'_ Rinkus begged his body as he pumped his wings hard. They were aching, and after a fair share of his own battles, he was tired.

But miraculously he had just enough strength to hurl himself into the cave's entrance before the predator caught up with him, _"Close it now!"_ He yelled out as Drake quickly pushed a larger boulder into the cave's entrance and blocked it with it, forcing the pursuing flyer to make a sharp upwards turn before it landed on the ground after making a small loop, glaring at the offending boulder before baring his teeth with a growl.

"_Drago, you need to take the kids and get out of here as fast as you can!"_ Drake ordered as he heard a cacophony of flyers assembling behind the bounder and tried getting through it, to which he pressed his side against it and held the tide on the other side.

"_I… I can't! I'm staying here! I'm not leaving you!"_ Drago called out.

"_You must! Go! Protect our kids!" _Drake argued back, but then Drago came up to him, and hugged him with her wings as he smiled and settled his right wing on her back before they rubbed heads.

"_But… what about you?"_ Drago asked with worry in her voice.

"_I'll be fine! Those flying pests won't bring me down!" _Drake replied with a reassuring smile before his feet slightly buckled and a couple of flyer beaks came through the cracks, but then they quickly pulled back when Rinkus shoved his shoulder against the boulder, adding his strength to Drake's in holding the horde behind.

"_This flying pest still has enough strength left…" _Rinkus muttered before he turned his head to Drago, "Don't worry about us! We lived through plenty of scraps, we'll survive this one." He then quickly turned his gaze to his daughter, "Rosy, go with them."

"_B-b-but… Dad! I can't leave you! There is-"_ Rosy begun as she felt her eyes well up with tears.

"_Rosy!"_ Rinkus interrupted, before he smiled a somber smile at her, "_I don't want to lose you too, so please… go with Drago, she'll keep you safe. And remember, I love you."_

Rosy could barely contain her tears, "_Love you too… Daddy."_ She sobbed out slightly before she tried to hug her father one last time, but then, Drago quickly snatched her up by her white fluffy collar and settled the rose colored flyer on her back. The time for parting had passed.

The hatchlings settled on Drago's back, holding onto her mane as she quickly turned around and bolted deeper into the cave, then turned a sharp left into the tunnel that lead out of Dragvalley. She prayed to the Bright Circle that Drake and Rinkus would be alright.

Back at the entrance to the cave, Rinkus and Drake could barely hold out continued assault on the boulder, they were tired and exhausted by their respective battles. They looked at one another and nodded to each other, If they continued holding the boulder down, they would be too tired to fight. They bought Drago enough time to give her a head start, so they as one, leapt away from the boulder.

The tactic worked as the enemy Flyers were putting everything into pushing the boulder away, they stumbled into the cave and fell into a pile which Drake quickly knocked back outside with a swing of his mighty tail. Then came the next wave of Flyers that flew into the cave and noticed that the female they were looking for was nowhere to be found.

"_Come at us, you miserable bastards!"_ Drake roared out as he and Rinkus started fending off the flyers, even exhausted and tired, those two fought with everything they got, they wouldn't let their kids be taken. The cave filled up with roars and squawks of the battle, however despite all of this effort, some flyers managed to sneak past the two defenders and started running along the same tunnel than Drago took.

Drago meanwhile was running in a maddening gallop, but then as she ran, she noticed a crack in the wall of the cave. She stopped as an idea came to her mind, an idea that went against her motherly instinct. She knew that the flyers were primarily after her, so she quickly took the hatchling off of her back and nudged them into the crack before giving them a shushing motion for them to stay quiet.

As she heard her pursuers behind her, she quickly bolted away, not noticing that Draigar was still on her back. She managed to arrive at the end of the tunnel and quickly leaped off the edge, spreading her wings wide before she started pumping them hard to gain as much distance as she could between her and her pursuers.

Suddenly the heavens trembled as lightning flashed dangerously close to her. Fear gripped Drago's heart, but she knew this strength, she didn't even need to look back to know that she was being chased. And she was, by a large Backwing, almost twice her size. No matter how hard she would pump her wings, she knew she was no match for the monster behind her.

The beast's horns glistened in flashes of lightning, and its eyes were like burning flames. Drago looked forward and swallowed hard, she was no match for the monster, and she had to take it away from her children. She had to choice in using it.

She reached her paw into her mane as she was searching for something back there, then once she felt the object in her claws, she pulled it out. It turned out to be a small purple stone, which she promptly pointed in front of her as she whispered something in a different language. Then a bright light erupted in front of her before swallowing the amethyst colored Backwing and seconds later, it disappeared leaving the pursuer alone with the rain. The monster of a Backwing gritted it's teeth before letting out a roar of anger and rage that his prey got away.

Meanwhile, on a dark cliff, two pairs of eyes watched everything that unfolded. The female purple flyer narrowed her orange eyes, their prey had escaped again and then she turned to her shadowy friend.

"_Well? What do we do now?"_ She asked with a slight edge in her voice.

"_Now we wait."_ The shadowy friend replied calmly, "_Patience my winged friend, they will be found, and once they do… none of them will live until the next morning."_

* * *

Several hours later, Draigar woke up in what looked like a cave. She managed to survive this ordeal by hiding in her mother's mane, and even though her eyes didn't want to be fully open due to exhaustion, she was able to see the cave's entrance, which looked more like a large gaping hole. A large smooth wall behind her, and the uneven floor which was filled with small pebbles, pits and cracks.

The rain outside was pouring hard, as if the heavens mourned those who died back in Dragvalley. But those thoughts immediately were silenced by the strong stench of decay that permeated the area, once she looked around a bit, she saw the cause of the smell.

A small half-rotting carcass of a strange looking creature, and judging by the smell, it was dead for almost a week. But she knew where it came from, her mother must have found it while she was sleeping.

"_Here, sweetheart… you need to get your strength back." _Drago said softly as she slid up a piece of the creature that looked a bit fresher than the rest. "_I'm sorry I couldn't find anything fresher."_

"_Don't want it."_ Draigar snorted as she pushed the spoiled meat away with her nose. Even though her stomach growled and wanted food, all she wanted was to return back home. Then she dropped her head and wings as the realization hit her harder than the flyer that bit off a part of her wing.

"_Draigar! What happened to your wing?!" _Drago asked with worry as she examined the damage, the blood had long since stopped flowing, which formed a dark brown scab where a part of Draigar's wing finger was. After taking a careful sniff, she was relieved that the wound didn't smell of infection.

"_A flyer… it…" _Draigar replied, trying not to sob or cry, "_Mom? Where are we?"_

Drago sighed as she looked out into the distance, "_If I'm right, we are far away east, near the Smoking Mountains. We will be safe here."_

"_Why did we run away?"_ Draigar asked somberly.

"_Because we had to."_

Draigar didn't even attempt to question her mother's evasive response. She was tired, hungry and homesick… at least two of those problems can be easily fixed as she focused her eyes on the carcass again, and proceeded to tear out small pieces of meat where it wasn't rotten, while also chewing on the cartilage that survived the time this thing was dead.

Seeing that her daughter finally decided to eat, Drago huddled deeper into the cave and laid down as she tried to make herself as comfortable as she physically could in this place. After watching Draigar for about half an hour, she curled up and tucked her head under her wing as she drifted off into sleep.

Soon Draigar joined her mother under her wing for warmth, but she couldn't rest, even if her body was tired, her mind was restless. She missed her dad, her brother and sister and the thought that she would never see them again plagued her to no end. But then, she saw a bright light and peeked her head out to see a falling star streak past the cloudy sky.

'_I wonder if she is running away too…' _The red Backwing hatchling thought to herself somberly, '_How I wish to be back home… with my dad.'_

As she mentally made her wish, she hid back under Drago's wing and curled up near her mom's soft belly.

However hours later, her sleep-story of running through Dragvalley with her brother and sister was cut short as she felt slight vibrations on her soft underbelly and reluctantly she opened her half-tired eyes and looked at her mother.

Drago was on alert, her large ears perked up high and she started to sniff, trying to figure out who dared to enter their sanctuary and if she had to fight again to save her child. Then her ears twitched when she heard what sounded like rocks falling down and hitting one another.

"_Who's there?!" _Drago called out as she used her wing to pull her daughter closer to her stomach.

There was no response as Draigar was able to hear the same sound of rolling stones, and then a strange and bizzare sound, it sounded to her like a cross between a growl and a bellow, but more on the bellow side. But what was most surprising to the hatchling was that her mother breathed out a sigh of relief, and actually responded with the same bellowing sound.

Draigar didn't even realize at the time, but her own wish would soon become a reality.


	7. Chapter 6

**Small Author's/Translator's note: Sorry it has been a while, with the summer coming to a close, I suddenly started to have more irl duties I needed to rectify, plus I had to be out of the country for a week so, that's the reason for the delay. I hope you enjoy this chapter, it's a small one but finally out Gang of Seven have made their appearance. Rate and Review please, and constructive criticism is always welcomed.**

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**Chapter 6: "Littlefoot"**

Drago was actually right when she told her daughter where they were. Their small shelter was on one of the ledges of the Smoking Mountain. The peaks of the mountains ascended towards the heavens, creating the perfect shelter for the two runaways. Far away from home, it had become their safe haven.

From their cave there was a beautiful view of the majestic Threehorn Peak, which proudly raised it's horned facade up towards the night sky. What was also know about the Threehorn Peak was that it was one of the several volcanoes that dotted the area, and each eruption of this colossal mountain would have stirred the blood even in the bravest of creatures. According to legend, the mountain erupted when it was being disturbed by outsiders; for it, just like a Threehorn didn't like strangers. It had been three years since it's rest was disturbed and live had moved on.

If you would have followed a path from the Threehorn Peak north for half a day, you would step into a completely different world. It was a world that was starkly different to the world that Backwings used to live in, even the local plants were different. It also was inhabited by different creatures called Earthstompers.

Like Backwings, they were covered in dense scales and many of them were huge creatures, sometimes even larger than Backwings themselves. But regardless of their size, they still had to survive in a world of kill or be killed as such was the harsh nature of life. Their offspring also came from eggs and they had the same feeling and emotions as their winged counterparts, and while many shared similarities with Backwings, there were also those who looked nothing alike.

Each kind of Earthstompers had their own special and unique things: Some had incredible long necks like the trunks of the ancient trees; others have boney crests with a pair of horns that grew out of it; there were also those who, unlike the others, felt and swam in water much better than the others. There were also those who walked on their hind legs and were able to run incredibly fast.

Even the diet of the Earthstompers was as diverse as they were. Some ate leaves and plants while the predators had incredibly sharp teeth that were well suited for tearing meat. However, none of them had one particular trait - wings. It was for that unique fact that the Backwings called them like that.

But the lack of wings didn't bother the Earthstompers that much, as they could do well without them. However there was one kind of Earthstompers that didn't abandon the gift of flight and continued soaring through the heavens no worse than the Backwings themselves. They were called Flyers, but unlike their larger scaled counterparts, they didn't have their wings on their backs, instead a thin but strong leathery membrane was attached to their forelimbs.

While most of the lands are always locked in a vicious cycle of kill or be killed, amidst those savage lands there was one island of peace. The Great Valley. It was a paradise for all kinds of plant eaters: Spiteful or Kind, harmful or helpful, serious or timid. Each was their own unique character, in good or bad ways. But most importantly that there was a place where there were children from seven different kinds that developed such a close friendship, that nothing could separate them. They were Cera, Ducky, Petrie, Spike, Ruby, Chomper, and of course, Littlefoot.

Their incredible friendship had formed in their early childhood and had continued to this day. But no matter how much they were attached to their quiet home and sanctuary, they yearned for adventures beyond the walls.

So usually when it became dark, the whole group came together on the Great Valley's walls to watch the sunset and the stars together. However before they arrived, they also gathered an assortment of tasty treats like Treestars and Sweet Bubbles, after all you can't watch a beautiful show of nature on an empty stomach.

"So beautiful!" Ducky said as her blue eyes sparkled a bit from the orange sunset.

"Yeah, it was a beautiful sunset." Chomper agreed.

"Hrmph! It's always the same… I don't get it what's so special." Cera grumbled as she chewed the last batch of leaves.

"Oh come on, Cera. Don't you see the beauty in the most simplest of things?" Littlefoot asked with a hint of objection.

But before the yellow Threehorn could counter, Ruby called out to them as the Bright Circle finally settled behind the Mysterious Beyond and stars started to appear in the night sky.

"Look guys! The first star just lit up! And another, and another!"

"One star is falling!" Littlefoot called out as he looked at the small streak flying through the starry sky. The young Longneck always enjoyed watching the falling stars, as in those moments, he imagined that he himself was flying through the sky, soaring above the clouds.

"Make a wish, Littlefoot." Chomper said hurriedly as the star was approaching the ground far in the distance.

Littlefoot took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he mentally imagined the lands where the star fell. It was when he opened them that he saw that his six other friends were staring at him with a curious expression.

"What did you wish for?" Ducky asked.

Littlefoot smiled as he looked far in the distance, "I wished to find something new, something completely unknown to others. Maybe a Valley or a place like this one, or a new kind that was never seen before." He said as he scratched his side a bit with his hind leg.

"Seriously?!" Cera blurted out, "We already seen so much and you still want more?!"

"Yeah, I miss our adventures."

"I think we went through enough. We have seen more than most other younglings ever will!"

"Come on, Cera. Don't you want to meet someone who you have never seen before? Someone who would share their secrets with you?"

"Hmmm… no." Cera muttered as she dug her nose into her forelegs to hide it.

"Um, Littlefoot." Petrie finally interrupted as he pointed his wing at something, "Your Grandma coming."

It didn't take long for the thunderous footsteps of a Longneck to echo in the distance before from behind a small ledge, a large head appeared that was attached to a long neck.

"Little ones, it's getting late. It is time to head home." The elderly female Longneck said with a sweet voice.

"Aw, Grandma… Could we please sit here for a little bit longer?" Littlefoot smiled in his best child-like smile. With that how could the elder resist?

"Okay, but soon everyone must be in their nests, alright? We don't want to worry anyone, now would we?" Grandma Longneck replied with a soft smile before disappearing behind the ledge as he started walking back to her nest.

"Alright!" In unison said the seven children.

"Look, look!" Ducky called out as she pointed her finger at another falling star, this time with a beautiful orangey glow, "This star is falling towards the Smoking Mountains! It does, It does!"

"Yeah." Littlefoot agreed as he watched the falling star carefully.

He noticed that unlike the rest, it didn't fall in a straight line, and for a moment he thought this wasn't a star at all, as it suddenly accelerated to high speeds and vanished behind a dark cloud. 'Could it be star people?' he thought to himself, but then those thoughts had to be pushed away as he noted the dark clouds in the sky.

"It looks like the Sky Water will fall soon," The young Longneck noted as the clouds covered the rising Night Circle and the aforementioned stars. "Let's go home, it's getting quite late."

It was then that Spike grunted and yawned.

"Spike agrees. Yep, yep, yep." Ducky said as she sat down on her brother's back. "Bye everyone!" she waved as they started to head back home.

The kids quickly said their goodbyes and wished each other pleasant sleep stories before going back to their respective homes.

The night was calm and silent. The only sounds that permeated the air was the wind that gently swayed the twigs and grass. The young longneck finally settled comfortably in his nest as his grandparents were already asleep. Littlefoot started thinking of the times when he and his friends went on their adventures, and he anxiously awaited the time when they would embark on their next adventure. But most of all, he dreamt of soaring through the clouds, like a Flyer.

A sudden noise came from the forest which broke Littlefoot's train of thought as the young Longneck raised his head from the ground and turned it towards its source. It sounded like something large was moving through the dense thicket as their large paws crushed the fallen branches and rustled dried leaves.

'Odd… who is up this late?' Littlefoot wondered to himself as he slowly raised his body out of his nest and quietly followed the sound.

The sounds grew louder and the young Longneck felt like he was about to find who it was that disturbed the peaceful silence, but then the noise abruptly stopped and Littlefoot froze. Was he found out?

That question was answered when the sounds returned but this time it was as if the unknown creature was running running away from something. Normally it would deter most younglings, but Littlefoot was more curious than most, so he chased after it. Soon he ran out of the forest and looked around, but… no one was there, nothing.

Littlefoot let out a saddened sigh as he bowed his head to the ground, but before he could sulk he saw a bunch of broken branches on the ground and he cocked his head slightly.

'I wonder who could have broken them.' He noted to himself as he looked around for any other clues, and he found them.

The grass was flattened to the ground, and once the young Longneck examined it further, he saw very unusual tracks, so he leaned in closer to examine the foot prints. The print was slightly larger than that of a Longneck. Moreover, it didn't have the usually rounded shape, but a rectangular one with three digits that were tightly adjoined with thick claws. Littlefoot knew that those were not Sharpteeth footprints, as their feet were wider and digits spaced away from one another. That made Littlefoot even more curious as he looked around and noticed more tracks leading up to the pond in the distance and he noticed a pattern where the next footprint was smaller than the previous one with the fingers being a lot thinner than on the previous one.

The young Longneck beamed at the prospect of meeting a new guest of the Valley, so he quickly followed the footprints to the pond but once there, he saw that the tracks cut off abruptly and he started to worriedly look around. Maybe he missed some or the stranger leaped over the pond?

'I don't get it… he or she was here to drink from the pond, but where did they go?' Littlefood pondered as he circled the last footprint, 'They couldn't just…' and in that moment, a thought caught in his mind as he quickly looked at the sky, '...flew off?!'

And to Littlefoot's surprise, he noticed that same orange star in the night sky. The same one that Ducky saw in the evening. It was a bright spot that constantly changed its direction, either flying in a straight line or in a circle, as if it was showing off to the young dinosaur.

'I knew this wasn't a star!' Littlefoot thought cheerfully as he was ready to hop from the excitement he was feeling right now, to think, a new and mysterious creature showed itself in the Valley! He quickly decided to follow the glowing star as it flew towards the Mysterious Beyond.

Using the secret passage, the young Longneck crossed to the opposite side of the Great Walls that protected the valley before quickly following the star deeper into the Mysterious Beyond. But there was fear in Littlefoot's heart, for he knew what kind of monsters lived in such an inhospitable land.

Sharpteeth were the undisputed masters of the Mysterious Beyond. They were ferocious, cruel and dangerous dinosaurs that roamed this barren wasteland, however the most infamous were the Fastbiters, who roamed in pairs or packs, and Bigteeth that roamed the land on their own. The land was starkly similar to those ruthless predators; barren, devoid of vegetation, with many Swamps and Swallowing Sands that were ready to drag an unsuspecting traveler into their depths. There were no trees, just small shrubs and rare patches of grass.

But that didn't stop the young Longneck, for he must know who this mysterious stranger was.

He didn't have to follow far, as Littlefoot's eyes quickly saw the glowing star crash into the mountain. As he approached that same mountain, he looked up and saw that there was a cave up on the ledge, for a moment he dreaded that he won't be able to climb up when he saw that there was a path up which was hidden by several boulders.

The path went uphill and had several small ledges to overcome, but with a stubbornness that rivaled Threehorns, Littlefoot continued to climb up the path, overcoming the obstacles that were on his way, he soon looked up and saw the last ledge which he needed to overcome. He crouched down on his hind legs as he counted to three in his mind before leaping at the ledge and catching it with his forelegs as with a grunt, he pulled himself up to the ledge before panting with exhaustion, as he looked up. There was just one ledge remaining for him to meet the stranger.

But then a quiet growl caused him to freeze up. His eyes widened as the first thing that came into his mind was that the stranger was a large Sharptooth Flyer. He quickly looked down to see if he would be able to run away safely, but to his horror, the path down was very open.

"Oh no… Why did I ever run away from home?!" Littlefoot whispered to himself in fear as he quickly his behind the ledge and covered his head with his forelegs, hoping the predator won't see him.

But as he heard the creature come out of its cave, he then heard a gentle female voice.

"No afraid. We don't touch youngling." It was deep, with growly undertones but gentle at the same time.

Littlefoot's fear for his life slowly went away as the young Longneck swallowed hard as he peeked his head out of the ledge with more confidence than he was feeling on the inside. As he did, he immediately saw a large, purple scaled creature that peacefully laid there with her side was against the wall.

"H-h-hello." Littlefoot said with worry.

"My! Little Earthstomper very brave. You not afraid?" The female replied with surprise in her voice as she lowered her huge head down and squinting one of her eyes to see him closer.

"W-well… not exactly. Unless you are trying to eat me." Littlefoot replied as he tried to put a brave face, but his instincts didn't help the matter.

"No worry, we don't eat Earthstompers."

"Earthstompers?" Littlefoot cocked his head to the side a bit confused, early fear replaced by curiosity. "Is that how you call me?"

"Yes." The female replied.

"You talk a bit weird, who are you?" Littlefoot asked as he noted the accent in her voice.

"My name Drago. We called Backwings." The female introduced herself, and while Littlefoot could understand her accent, she noticed that at the word 'Backwings' he looked slightly confused, so she asked; "Me take you no know who we are?"

"Whoa, umm… No, I have never seen anyone like you." Littlefoot replied awkwardly.

"Backwings, kind that had wings, but no like Flyers." Drago replied and to prove her point, she stood up and slowly flared out her wings, showing each and every finger that was connected with a thin leathery membrane.

"Me fly from Dragvalley, my home. Evil Flyer attack my home, and me flee with daughter." She finished.

"Daughter?" Littlefoot asked with surprise.

Drago smiled as she bent her head even lower, down to the rocky floor before turning it towards her soft wing as she hit her snout under it and let out a series of soft growls and warbles. Littlefoot naturally was curious as he gazed into the pitch black darkness, as if trying to use his eyes to illuminate it but then, he suddenly caught the slightest of movement in there.

The female let out another soft and tiny warble with a growl, as if coaxing her child out. And just then, from under Drago's wing, a tiny bright red snout with a small bump appeared, before quickly darting back into hiding once she saw the unfamiliar Earthstomper.

It was then that Drago folded her wing, so that Littlefoot could see her child, but once Littlefoot came close to see, he saw that the place where he would have guessed the child would be was empty. Looking confused, he turned his head to Drago when he heard a faint but clear squeak and a chirp that came from the female's elbow spike.

The young Longneck was about to peek inside but then, after he carefully thought to himself, he refrained from coming closer, after all, the hatchling was more than likely saw him for the first time, and considering that he knew how shy and afraid little ones were, he would have to admit defeat and hope that the little one would come out to meet him. Seeing that Littlefoot hung his head low, Drago decided to cover her child with her wing again and to continue the conversation with the unexpected guest.

"How is named brave Earthstomper?" she asked.

"Littlefoot." The young Longneck replied as he awkwardly lowered his head a bit.

"Pleasure to meet, Littlefoot." Drago smiled kindly as she turned turned her head towards Littlefoot, almost touching his head.

"Likewise!" Littlefoot replied with more liviliness as he lifted his head up as he looked directly into Drago's blue eyes, "Drago? Could you please tell a tale about your home? About Dragvalley?"

"Aren't you curious small Longneck-Earthstomper." Drago said gently as she closed her eyes, and smiled slightly as she remembered her home, it would definitely be a pleasant conversation for her as she opened her eyes and got more comfortable and she shifted a bit to her side. Meanwhile her daughter quickly darted under her wing. "Come here, Littlefoot. I speak of Dragvalley."

Littlefoot's eyes widened in happiness as he was offered such a tantalizing offer, so he quickly ran up to her and settled down near her wing, trying not to disturb the shy hatchling.

"Comfortable?" Drago asked to which Littlefoot nodded, "Good. Listen, little Earthstomper. Dragvalley wonderful place, It has mountains, forests, water and many Backwings." she slowly begun her tale of Dragvalley.

As Drago started telling her tale, Littlefoot was fully absorbed into her story, so much so that he didn't notice the time flying by, nor he cared about it. He wanted to learn more about the place where Drago came from. And the female was telling her tale with such love, even the broken leaf-eater didn't break the immersion of such a tale. She told him and described each and every bush that grew there as well as the funniest stories she recalled that involved every mound, stream or tree.

And for a moment, Littlefoot thought he wasn't in a cave anymore, but rather on the fields and forests of Drago's previous home. When the description of the valley was concluded, Drago begun telling the young Longneck about her hatchlings, what kinds of Backwings lived in the valley as well as the Forbidden Lands.

That made Littlefoot realize that both Valleys were very similar, they had their own problems, and their own version of the Mysterious Beyond.

But he did notice that during Drago's story, he could see the tiny red muzzle that watched with curiosity, but as soon as the young Longneck tried looking her way, the muzzle quickly disappeared back into hiding. That same exchange repeated several times until finally, Littlefoot let out a small yawn as he didn't even notice the Night Circle flying through its path as it already passed a large chunk of it's journey.

As much as he wanted to know more, Littlefoot slowly lowered his head to his forelegs and fell asleep.


	8. Chapter 7

**Edit: Fixed some typos.**

**AN: Hello everyone, sorry for a big delay as irl stuff keeps piling on. It's been like... *checks date* One month, yikes! I hope I would be able to translate faster but no promises. To ease your worries, no, the fic will never be canceled. The author made sure to tell me that and so I give her words to you. As always, enjoy the chapter, R&R and don't be shy about constructive criticism.**

**Obligatory Keys: **

"Dinosaur Speech"

'Dinosaur Thoughts'

_"Backwing Speech"_

_'Backwing thought'_

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**Chapter 7: "The Fateful Night"**

"Littlefoot." A gentle voice echoed through the bright iridescent glare, which was soon followed by a soft jolt which made the young Longneck leave the land of dreams. "Wake up, little one. The Bright Circle has been up for a while."

Opening his sleepy eyes, Littlefoot looked around lazily and was a bit confused by his surroundings. He lay in his nest of soft grass near his grandma's tail as she was looking at him with a loving smile. The vibrant sound of the awakened Great Valley woke him up completely as he started to look around.

On one side he could hear the powerful roar of the Thundering Falls. On the other he heard the squeals and laughter of awakened children and anxious exclamations of their mothers. And on the third, the loud stomps of the herds as they walked to enjoy their green food. As Littlefoot looked up, he could see the magnificent dawning sky which was decorated with small and rare clouds. There were sounds of chirping buzzers as they played their songs out of view of other dinosaurs. There were voices of other dinosaurs, minding their own daily routines. The rustle of grass and foliage as a gentle wind blew through the leaves.

Green and succulent plants everywhere along with flowers that gave off a pleasant fragrance and the radiant Bright Circle that warmed both the ground and the hides of the valley's residents. In the distance there were cold and dark mountains, to which the light of the Bright Circle hasn't reached yet.

This entire landscape wasn't the cold and dark cave where Littlefoot fell asleep, so he was very confused on how he got here.

"Where's Drago?" Littlefoot said as the face of confusion and bewilderment was clearly seen on his face.

"What Drago?" Gently asked Grandpa Longneck as he lowered his head towards his grandson.

"I met new creatures at night, they were called Backwings. They came here from another Valley." Littlefoot replied, as he tried to wake up fully. "I went with them… and now I'm here."

"Maybe you just dreamt about them." The elderly Longneck offered with a soft smile.

"But I…" Littlefoot tried to protest but then stopped as he thought carefully on what happened. What if it was all just a sleep story? After all, how could he have woken up back in his nest? "Maybe it was all just a sleep story…" He said disappointedly.

"Little one, I told you you shouldn't have eaten those Treestars before sleep." Grandpa Longneck replied with a chuckle.

"True, but I wouldn't mind Treestars for breakfast!" Littlefoot replied with a smile as he quickly stood up from his nest and bolted towards the tall trees.

The two Elderly Longnecks slowly followed him as the young Longneck wouldn't be able to reach the most tastiest Treestars on top of the tall trees. So Grandpa longneck walked up to one of the trees, lifted his large foreleg and bend the tree trunk in a way so that Littlefoot could get his breakfast.

After eating his fill, Littlefoot completely forgot about his amazing 'sleep story' and ran off to find his friends. He first visited Petri in his nest as his family already had their fill of green food and just lounged on the ledge as they were getting ready for their busy day.

"Good morning!" Littlefoot called out as he approached the cliff where his friend lived.

"Good morning, Littlefoot." Petrie replied as he jumped off of the ledge and glided down before landing on top of the young Longneck's head. "Where we go today?"

"First, we find the others." Littlefoot replied and once Petrie nodded his head in agreement, they went towards their favorite spot; A small lagoon near the Thundering Falls.

It was a nice and peaceful place that the seven children considered their private spot, so it only made sense to start the search from there. As they passed the lake that was being fed by the waterfall, they met Ducky and Spike as they were heading in the same direction as they were.

"Hello!" The young female swimmer called out as she waved her hand at Littlefoot and Petrie. She was sitting comfortably on her brother's back. "I bet you two are also heading towards our favorite pond?"

"You are right, Ducky." Littlefoot replied with a smile.

All four together, they headed towards the pond, joking and laughing to each other as they talked about fun moments they had yesterday. They soon saw Cera, Ruby and Chomper swimming in the lagoon. It had crystal clear water along with lush and juicy green on its banks.

As the dinosaurs greeted each other, they began playing their game of 'Swimmer and Splasher' where one dinosaur would take to swim towards the others while the rest would be splashing water on the swimmer.

It was obvious that Ducky was very good at the game. Her small stature and the fact she was a Swimmer gave her good advantage over her friends, as she was quickly able to swim forward and avoid most of the splashing.

Petrie on the other hand, decided to stay on the shore. Flyers were not great swimmers, and a certain incident several Cold Times ago gave him a small fear of deep water. Which were pretty much any shallows that he wouldn't walk through.

It was now Littlefoot's turn to swim, and that he did as the rest of his friends tried to splash him away. Though during the game, the young Longneck again thought about the 'sleep story' and the Backwings. Could it have been just his imagination? Or was the interaction real?

**Splash!**

"I guess it's true what dad used to say about longnecks!" Cera quipped as Littlefoot started unamusingly at his yellow, threehorned friend, "They always have their heads in the clouds."

"Just you wait, Cera! Soon it will be your turn to swim!" Littlefoot replied as he resumed his swim. Thoughts of Backwings now gone from the young Longneck's mind, but not forgotten.

* * *

The afternoon soon rolled around as the Bright Circle was high in the sky and the kids took this time to rest and relax after their fun in the water and laid on the soft grass as they looked up at the clouds while the warning rays were drying them.

"Hmm… this one looks like a Sand Creeper. It does, It does." Ducky said as she pointed her finger at a cloud with two claw-like appendages.

"And those two look like a Flower and a Treestar." Cera added with stubborn confidence.

"So? What do you see, Littlefoot?" Chomper asked his Longneck friend.

"I… ummm…" At first Littlefoot had his eyes and mind on a cloud that looked like a tree, but then he looked a bit to the side and saw a different cloud, one which looked like it had 'paws' and 'wings' so he smiled a bit and without even thinking replied; "I see a Backwing."

"A who?" The rest of his friends suddenly asked in unison.

"It's nothing," Littlefoot muttered as he realised that no one else knew about those creatures, "Just said the first thing that came into my mind."

"What are those Backwings?" Ruby asked, as she was very curious about what Littlefoot wasn't telling them about.

"I just had a very weird sleep story. There I met a new creature who called itself a Backwing."

"And how did it look like?" Ducky asked, now she was curious as well.

"They are similar to us Earth- Oh, dinosaurs, but they aren't like us."

"What do you mean like us and not like us?" The young threehorn burst out in frustration, "Explain clearly!"

"Well, they have all the things we have by ourselves." Littlefoot replied to his friend, "Backwings walk on four clawed feet, like Chomper's kind. They have fuzzy things on their head like Ruby's kind. A long neck like us Longnecks. And they have a pair of horns like that of a Threehorn… However they also had wings that wasn't like those of Flyers."

"Ha! Sounds like an ugly and horrible beast to me!" Cera laughed, however after she thought for a moment, she added; "Although, their horns must be awesome. They are like Threehorn's after all." She raised her head proudly as she posed her nose horn.

"Cera, they aren't terrible beasts!" Littlefoot replied with a frown, as he defended the honor of the creatures he saw. To which Cera rolled her eyes.

"You seriously need to lay off of Treestars before sleep." Cera replied with a tone of arrogance.

Littlefoot was deeply saddened as those words stung worse than a stinging buzzer, as they showed that even his friends didn't believe him. However the young Longneck himself started to doubt that it was real, since sleep stories could play a cruel joke on other dinosaurs.

He looked away from his chuckling friends and he saw the same forest he saw in his sleep story. It was alluring to him, as he remembered what he heard and saw there. The smells and the gentle wave of the branches were almost hypnotizing and… if there is any proof that his sleep story was real, it would be there.

As if in a trance, he offered his friends to go play in that captivating forest. Once he saw approval in their eyes, he quickly leapt up unto his feet and bolted into the dense thicket, not paying any attention to the cheerful calls his friends made as they followed him. Littlefoot ran under the crowns of trees and weaves in between the thick trunks until finally, he saw the same flattered grass. He swallowed hard, this was it…

He slowly walked up to it, and then after looking down, he saw his proof. The same footprint as he saw in his 'sleep story' with three thick digits. At that, the Longneck smiled a big smile.

'So it wasn't just a sleep story!' Littlefoot thought to himself cheerfully, 'Backwings do exist!'

"Hey, Littlefoot!" Came the unamused voice of his Threehorn friend, after which she emerged from the woods along with all of his friends.

"We looked for you everywhere! What has gotten into you? Don't tell me you were looking for your 'Backwings'?" Cera added with sarcasm.

'Don't worry, I already found them.' Littlefoot thoughtfully replied to Cera's question as he used his foreleg to rub away the footprint.

The young Longneck decided not to share his findings with his friends, after all… he perfectly remembered what happened before when something unknown was introduced to the Great Valley and that new things tend to cause unrest and constant sense of alertness. So he decided to hide this, even from his friends… at least, for now.

After he made sure that the footprint was no longer visible, he rejoined the company of his friends, ready for more fun and games as if nothing had ever happened.

By the time evening came, the children were too tired to watch the setting of the Bright Circle, so they all went home early to sleep. But not all of them were asleep. Littlefoot, kept tossing and turning in his attempts to sleep, tormented by the memories of yesterday's night and the self doubt that came with it. Did he truly met the Backwings? He saw the footprint so it must have been real, they had to exist! With his doubts finally settled, and him being tired from today's activities, he started to slowly drift into the land of sleep. But then… he heard another proof of his so called "sleep story" - a light and familiar growl that came from the forest.

Littlefoot's grandparents were already fast asleep and didn't hear the noise, so the young dinosaur was the only one to hear this noise. It didn't take long for the young dinosaur to realize that this growl belonged to the same orange star that so persistently called out for Longneck to follow it. Almost as if Drago herself came to the valley to visit her new friend.

With his passion for adventure and discovery overpowering his will, Littlefoot bolted out of the nest and followed the growl. But as he followed this familiar sounds, he stopped to notice something to his right. Having a brilliant idea, he walked up to one of the bushes and plucked a pretty pink flower. It would be a gift, a sign of friendship to Drago's daughter which hopefully would prove the young shy hatchling that he won't harm her. Moreover the unusual guests might not know anything about the Great Valley and thus this flower, might become the first step in understanding it. With a final look, the young Longneck nodded, satisfied with the gift as he continued on his way, following the orange star.

The young Longneck's journey went the same path as it was yesterday; through the forest towards the watering hole, then along the Mysterious Beyond and straight towards the Smoking Mountains. And the orange star accompanied him all the way as it showed the road with it's rough loops and twists.

As Littlefoot overcame ledge after ledge, he heard a new set of sounds, a small exchange two different sounding warbles and growls, however one of them the young Longneck recognized immediately, and while he couldn't understand what it was saying, the tone and the depth of it, as well as the gentle softness told him that is unmistakably belonged to a magnificent creature he knew as Drago.

After he walked up to the pitch black mouth of the cave, he heard a worried voice come from inside it's depths.

"Littlefoot? That you, small Earthstomper-Longneck?"

Littlefoot, being confident in himself, peeked his head out, wearing his signature smile on his face as he crawled up towards the ledge and walked up to the female.

"Oh, me pleased you came back." Drago sighed with relief as she allowed herself to lay down on the warmed rocks, "Me afraid, you no want to come here."

"I couldn't have not come back!" Littlefoot replied confidently as he struggled not to drop the flower he carried in his mouth. As he came up towards the large paw of the female, he lowers his head and carefully placed the flower near her before he continued;

"This is for you, a flower that grows in the Great Valley. I thought you would be curious to know about my home."

Out of the corner of his eye, the young Longneck could see the movement under Drago's wing, along with a pair of yellow glowing eyes that reflected the light of the Night Circle. Though this time, the hatchling didn't hide under her mother's wing when Littlefoot looked back at the youngling. In fact, she curiously looked at the flower, then at Littlefoot and then at the calm and soft eyes of her mother, which gave the young Longneck an idea.

Littlefoot nuzzled the flower closer to Drago's wing before taking a couple steps back, hoping that the shy hatchling would come out of hiding if she knew that she had nothing to fear. And it worked perfectly, as at first a small snout came out from the shadows and then, the hatchling's entire body as she touched the flower with her paws and started looking it over with curiosity rivaling his own.

Now that the hatchling was out of her hiding spot, the young Longneck now could get a closer look at her, and he noticed that she looked a little different than her mother. First off, her snout was longer than her mother's, and as Littlefoot could guess, she lacked the horns because she was still just a hatchling. The small bump on the nose which he noticed the first time he met them actually turned out to be a thick layer of armor which stretched from her forehead down to her nose. And at the end of the tail, it wasn't the fuzzy things like Ruby's and Drago's but rather a small arrow-shaped tail.

Though now Drago's gentle voice broke Littlefoot out of his train of thought.

"You tell us about Great Valley?" She asked in a surprised tone.

"Of course!" Littlefoot replied, "It would be a pleasure to tell you about my home."

As soon as Drago settled in with her daughter, who still held the flower in her tiny paws, Littlefoot began slowly and enthusiastically telling his tale about the Great Valley, trying not to miss even the smallest of details of it. All the while, the amethyst female was speaking in her native tongue as she translated the young Longneck's words so her daughter could learn about this new land.

While Littlefoot was telling his tale, the hatchling put the flower away as she studied it well enough but now, her curiosity was focused on the strange creature before her. She carefully paced back and forth near her mother's wing, trying to examine Littlefoot, but was afraid to leave the safety of her mother's wing.

Not to make it awkward for the hatchling, Littlefoot took his eyes off her and focused on Drago in hopes it would let the young Backwing closer to him. And it worked, as Littlefoot could see from the edge of his vision, the hatchling started to carefully walk up towards him, but then as soon as Littlefoot turned his head a bit her way, she instantly jumped back to her mother's wing.

The young Longneck looked away, slightly dejected but kept telling the tale about the Great Valley. What he didn't see was that mere seconds later after he averted his eyes, the Backwing hatchling once again started to slowly approach the young Longneck with curiosity burning bright in her eyes.

A few inches separated Littlefoot and the hatchling when suddenly Drago apologized before the young Longneck for interrupting his story and then warbled out something to her daughter in her own language and then used her nose to push the hatchling right towards the young Longneck's feet.

"Me tell Draigar not be afraid. That you friend." The mother clarified as Littlefoot looked down to see the young hatchling looking quite shy as she curled her tail around herself, trying to look as small as possible.

"Draigar? Is that her name?" Littlefoot asked and when he got an affirmative nod from Drago, he smiled and added; "Draigar, what a pretty name, just like she is."

Drago's eyes lit up from happiness as she smiled and immediately translated the young Longneck's words to her daughter. To which Draigar at first shyly averted her eyes, but then looked up at Littlefoot and gave him a gentle look of gratitude, with the young Longneck giving a friendly smile in response.

Up close, the hatchling turned out to be more pretty than Littlefoot originally thought as he started looking her over, taking in all the details while Draigar followed his head's movements and sniffed slightly. It was then that the young Longneck noticed an oddity; her right wing looked a bit shorter, as she was missing half of her finger and there was a noticeable brown scab indicating a wound.

"What happened with her wing?" Littlefoot asked.

"When we flee Dragvalley, evil flyer attack Draigar, he bite part of her wing." Drago replied somberly as she hung her head a bit, but seeing the sadness in the children's eyes, she let out a soft smile and asked;

"Small Earthstomper-Longneck would continue tell about Great Valley?"

"Of course!" Littlefoot lived up, "Have you heard about the legend of Saurus Rock? It's awesome!"

The cave was once again filled with amazing stories about adventure and inseparable friends. Time flew by fast behind the fascinating narrative of the young Longneck and soon enough, both Littlefoot and Draigar had trouble staying awake as the heavy burden of fatigue clinged to them both.

It was when Draigar fell asleep peacefully, curled up into a cute bundle of red scales and violet fuzz, that Littlefoot decided it was also time for him to fall asleep. However just as he was about to go into the land of sleep stories, the female Backwing spoke in a serious tone.

"Littlefoot, I ask you not tell others about us. Promise?"

Without even thinking, Littlefoot nodded his head right as he fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Littlefoot again woke up in his nest, but now he had no doubts about the Backwing's existence. They were real and not a figment of his imagination! He spent his day just like any other day, he played with friends from morning until late evening when the children went their separate ways to sleep. Once the Great Valley was sound asleep, the young Longneck took this time to sneak out to the Smoking Mountains to meet his new Backwing friends.

But the Longneck knew this couldn't last forever. Already Cera asked why he looked more tired than usual, and with the Mysterious Beyond being full of dangers like Sharpteeth and Sharpbeaks, there was no telling what could happen to the young hatchling when her mother would be out gathering food. So he hoped he could use the trust he gained with them to convince the two to live in the Great Valley.

Sure, the Elders would protest but he knew it wasn't the Great Valley's way to just leave a starving mother and her daughter out where there was barely any food, and the Valley would not only provide much needed shelter for the hatchling but also give her a chance to meet plenty of new friends.

With his heart hardened with resolve, he ran towards the cave, thinking how he would pitch this idea to Drago and hoped deep down in his heart that he would be able to convince them to move.

This time, Draigar, who completely stopped fearing him, was waiting anxiously at the mouth of the cave, wagging and beating her tail on the floor as she thought of what games they could play today. She took a liking towards the kind hearted Longneck, who turned out to be not evil like the flyer who bit off a piece of her wing. Each minute she asked her mother if she could see the familiar figure running up the ledges, and each time she was disappointed with a negative answer.

Just as the red hatchling was starting to get worried that her friend decided not to come today, she saw a familiar brown flank dart in between the rocks, and moments later, Littlefoot was standing at the mouth of the cave, wearing his signature soft smile.

As Littlefoot noticed Drago, lying on her stomach deeper inside the cave, he decided not to bother with long stories or pleasantries and get straight to the point; offering Drago to move to the Great Valley. However Draigar had other ideas as she jumped onto the young Longneck's back, causing him to temporarily forget about the offer and instead to start playing with the small hatchling.

For a while, both children ran around the cave as they tried to catch one another. They hid in the cracks and hopped over small pebbles as they were laughing and shoving each other, though Littlefoot was extra careful with the small hatchling as her size was around that of Ducky's so he had to be extra careful but it didn't stop them from doing a play fight, before bolting into a small race around the cave.

All the while, Drago's soft and caring eyes watched the children in her silent vigil to make sure the kids won't hurt themselves, but as she saw the happiness her daughter was having with this young Longneck, she wished for one thing - for this serene and happy moment to never end.

Once the children had their fun, Draigar and her new friend came up to Drago and the red hatchling laid down near her mother's warm side as she snuggled into Drago's purple scales. Now that Littlefoot was able to catch his breath from the fun they had, he decided it was a perfect time to pitch his offer.

"Drago?" He begun and Drago looked at him with a soft look, "Why wouldn't you move into the Great Valley? The Mysterious Beyond is dangerous and the valley doesn't have the dangers like Sharpteeth. Also there is plenty of food there as well… wouldn't you think that you both would be better there than here?"

"Oh, Littlefoot Earthstomper-Longneck…" Drago sighed softly and tiredly and she was preparing for a heavy subject, "Earthstompers no like Backwings. They fear us, and hate us. We chased if we come. There no place in Great Valley, here we safe."

"But… there are many earthstompers living there. It can't be that all hate-" Littlefoot protested in a pleading voice but Drago interrupted him.

"Earthstomper is Earthstomper, and Backwing is Backwing. Earthstompers never accept us. There no place for us in Great Valley." Solemnly finished Drago, to which Littlefoot lowered his head in sadness. But seeing the youngling's distress, she added. "But you can come. You are friend. Maybe one day we come to Great Valley. Me know that other don't see that we good, that we monster. But you see kindness and friendship. You see in us what others don't see."

Drago's words gave Littlefoot hope, hearing those words of comfort, he slowly lowered his head towards his forelegs and started to slowly fall asleep. The round of games with the hatchling wore him out, and that was on top of the exhaustion he got when playing with his friend in the Valley so he was blissfully waiting for sleep to overcome him.

But then, not a minute had passed before he closed his eyes, that he felt how the female Backwing's body tensed up. Opening his eyes he saw the alertness on Drago's features as her ears were perked up and she stared apprehensively into the twilight that formed themselves outside of the cave.

That caused the young Longneck to immediately wake up, he heard stories about how herds were alert when Sharpteeth were around and with Drago mimicking them down to the last detail, all traces of figure disappeared as he also started listening carefully and vigilantly gazed into the darkness outside, but didn't notice anything suspicious.

Feeling the nervousness, Draigar also woke up in surprise and looked at her mother with a questioning look as her ears perked up, and her sharp hearing, unlike those of Littlefoot, picked up a small, barely audible noise coming from the Mysterious Beyond. With each second, the sound became louder and louder until Littlefoot himself was able to pick up the sound as well.

It was a strange sound for him, and slightly incomprehensible as the only way she could describe the sound was the sound of large wings that belonged to a _very_ large flyer, but Drago knew that sound very well, it was the same noise she heard every day while living in Dragvalley. Realizing this, she quickly rose up and took on a low fighting stance, swinging her tail aggressively, ears low and a look that would cause any peaceful creature to run away from her.

"Hide behind me." Drago said in a serious tone, one that wouldn't tolerate any questions.

Without any hesitation, both Littlefoot and Draigar silently hid behind the large female. It was then that outside, on the backdrop of dark and stormy clouds, lightning flashed which lit up a dark silhouette. The second time Skyfire flashed, was enough to examine the stranger a bit more closely. A proudly elongated head crowned with horns and a long neck which was connected a fairy large body with four legs, two wings and a thick long tail. The answer was obvious who this stranger was - another Backwing.

But considering Drago's reaction, Littlefoot could safely assume that this one didn't come here with noble intentions. The stranger flapped his wings as he looked around and was sniffing the surrounding air, he was searching for something and Drago perfectly knew what that was.

"Littlefoot, hide Draigar!" Drago ordered in a barely audible whisper.

"Where?" Littlefoot whispered as his head started darting around in search of a good cover where they wouldn't be found.

"Hide!" Drago repeated the order, this time slightly louder and in a voice that conveyed deep fear.

Thinking fast, the young Longneck noticed one of the cracks in the wall, one in which he hid during their playtime, it was just wide enough to hide himself and the red hatchling. Without hesitation, he started to gently push Draigar towards the crack with his nose, and once she disappeared in the darkness of the crack, he followed her… and just in time.

**Roooaaarrrr!**

The roar was as loud and terrible as the Skyfire's wrath, and seconds later, a large shadow covered the entire cave as a loud thud was heard when the stranger landed on the edge. Everyone held their breath as Drago saw the side of the stranger. He was twice her size and while the darkness and dark scales obscured the identity of the stranger, another flash of Skyfire was enough to spot piercing, cold, white eyes which burned with a piercing gaze, one that promised a long and painful end to whoever would challenge him. The eyes, like a pair of Night Circles, glared at the amethyst female. Drago knew… she doesn't stand a chance against this beast, she let out a sigh before whispering something… as if saying goodbye to her daughter.

But she sure as hell wouldn't be going down without a fight. In less than a second after her whisper, she took on a warlike appearance, letting out a menacing growl back at the stranger, showing her boldness despite the side difference.

The eyes of both Backwing shone in the light of the Night Circle as both of them, letting out growls of battle, baring their show white fangs. Then with a terrible roar that followed by puffs of smoke that came from their nostrils, they leaped at one another, baring their teeth and claws.

A terrible battle started, one that shook the cave and caused small pebbles to rain down on the ground and clouds of dust to be thrown into the air as the two Backwings exchanged bites, tail smashes, shoves and scratches with their claws of wings. No one was yielding in this battle to the death, for every second was decisive, and a single mistake can cost someone their life.

The stranger was taller than Drago, but that didn't mean that the protective mother wouldn't hesitate to rip the intruder's throat out. For Drago it was a different situation, she had to evage her opponent's attacks, for the size and power gave the stranger enough strength to deliver a killing blow at any time, and if not… those jaws could easily damage her wings which would spell a slow death for her.

**Crash!**

It was at that moment, Littlefoot realized in horror that this small crevice wouldn't offer them much hiding space when Drago's powerful tail sent the stranger flying straight at them! The stranger crashed his back into the wall, causing some pebbles to fall unto Littlefoot's head. To his luck, he saw the stranger letting out a growl that sounded half angry and half pleasured as the large backwing tasted the battle before him. That was good since the stranger would be focused on the battle and not them… now just to find a better spot to wait out the battle.

'The rocks outside!' Littlefoot thought to himself as the idea popped into his head, it would be a perfect hiding spot until the battle dies down.

The young longneck, quickly and carefully grabbed Draigar's scruff with his flat teeth, before he snuck out of the crevice they were hiding in and quietly started sneaking away out of the cave as Drago managed to use her head in a headbutting uppercut, then trying to bite down the stranger's neck but the stranger quickly moved to the side, but as the stranger went for Drago's neck, she shoved him away with hard shove of her head to the left, letting out a menacing snarl, keeping the strangers attention solely on her as Littlefoot and Draigar safely snuck out of the cave.

Once outside, Littlefoot quickly darted under the ledge, once safely hidden, he carefully placed Draigar on the ground, however once the red hatchling's feet felt the ground underneath her, she tried bolting further down the mountain, only to be stopped by Littlefoot as he grabbed her tail with his foot.

"Stop! We can't go there! We would be spotted!" But then the Longneck realized to his horror that the hatchling didn't understand his language, however Draigar noted the tone of her friend's voice and then, immediately realized that she almost made a grave mistake.

The red hatchling instantly recoiled from the ledge and huddled as close to Littlefoot's side as she could, just then, another terrible roar erupted from above them and after which, rocks from above the mountain came crashing down as they zoomed by the ledge. If the children went further down, they would have ended up being caught in a landslide, but now, they were in less danger than they were before.

Minutes passed, which to the two children seemed like an eternity but the battle above didn't cease in the slightest. Gradually the red hatchling's fear for her own life turned into worry for her mother. The monstrous noises caused Draigar to cringe at the thought of what was going on back inside the cave. Finally came a roar that shook the air around them, it was one of fury and exhaustion… on this, Draigar couldn't help but see what was going on, so she carefully crawled up the rocks and peeked from behind the ledge, trying to also not to be noticed.

And she widened her eyes in horror, for before her was a scene straight out of a bad sleep story. The battle had moved to the edge of the ledge as the flashing light from the Skyfire illuminated the faces of two Backwing, their snarling faces hissed and growled at each other while their eyes still burned with fire of battle. The red hatchling couldn't see the stranger fully, but that didn't matter… for she saw her mother, and that was sight enough for her to let out a tiny and horrified gasp.

Drago's body was covered in terrible wounds, those ranged from bite marks from her opponent's deadly fangs, to deep gashes on her body from the dreadful claws as they oozed out the lifeblood which sustained her. Deep inside, Draigar hoped that Drago left the stranger with just as, if not more grievous wounds. However even with such wounds, Drago refused to give up, as she smashed her tail against the stranger's side before repulsing another biting attempt from the stranger. But the red hatchling wasn't oblivious to her mother's dire condition, for the amethyst female's breaths were heavy and labored and she had difficulty standing on her shuddering legs that already started to give way from the bloodloss. With each blow, her mother was losing more and more of her strength as the stranger seemed to have started to savor his victory over the female.

However then, Drago noticed her child in her peripheral vision paused for a second, completing forgetting about the battle before her, and sadly… that gave the stranger enough time for his strike. The large Backwing reared back his head and then, like a viper attacking its prey, sunk his sharp fangs into Drago's soft and exposed neck as she let out a heart rending cry of pain and surprise. The stranger tightened his grip on his prey, letting the female's blood gush into his mouth, her body's trembling as she tried to lift her paw to scratch the offender but it was then that she felt her body going completely limp.

Once the stranger had enough, he quickly recoiled, letting Drago to fall on the ground with a thud. A dark red liquid trickled down the rocks from the wound on the female's neck, the stranger had pierced her neck so deeply that not only she was losing blood at an alarming rate, but also that her trachea was pierced, causing her to drown in her very own blood. But… even it, even the infliction of a deadly wound, didn't deter Drago as with a wet wheezing sound, she stood back on her shaky legs, glaring at her attacker with a stubborn defiance.

Drago could see the situation, ahead of her was her hated enemy, behind her was the dark abyss of death, and behind her enemy was the small treasure she guarded with her life. There were multiple thoughts running through her mind, a darker part of her mind put the blame on her daughter, but she knew… Draigar was not at fault, for she was just an innocent child that was dragged into this whole mess. She let out a wet snort as one of the gaping wounds splattered blood on the ground, as if daring her enemy to go his worst.

For poor Draigar, the scene turned quiet. Her thundering heartbeat drowned out all of the sounds as she could see the grinning enemy, how he stared at her mother like she was a helpless prey. And then, the icy cold eyes of the stranger flashed in the light of Skyfire, before he sprinted forward and with a sickening headbutt, threw Drago off the cliff.

Time almost stood still for the red hatchling as she watched in horror and misery as her mother fell into the dark abyss below. Drago shared in the silence as her strength faded from her body, leaving her limp and relaxed, as if accepting the inevitable fact of her demise. As she fell into the dark abyss there was a triumphant roar of the stranger, but the only thing Drago could do was to look up at the sky with tired and sad eyes as the Night Circle was slowly enveloped by the dark clouds. The tiredness from her battle and her wounds, and the sadness that she wouldn't be around to see her child grow, she hoped for Draigar to avoid her past… but it seemed that fate laughed in her face.

As Drago disappeared into the darkness below, Draigar felt as if her heart shattered into a million pieces. Tears welled up in her eyes as she felt a scream gathering in her lungs, a scream that would probably make her hoarse for a while, but before she could. Littlefoot quickly held her head to the ground. This aborted her scream before it could materialize as he pulled her close to his body under the ledge, leaving the poor hatchling to silently cry into the longneck's hide. The red hatchling couldn't think of her mother's killer anymore, but rather tried focusing on hope that maybe… just maybe, her mother survived the fall as the duo waited for the murderer to leave.

The stranger looked down with a prideful look into the abyss, satisfied with the deed he did before he spread out his large wings and with a thunderous flap, launched himself off the ground and flew high into the thunderous clouds, vanishing from sight.

A long and terrible silence descended on the area around them, with the only thing shattering it were the droplets of sky water as they fell from the sky. It was as if the heavens themselves were mourning Drago's fall. But Littlefoot kept his ears sharply tuned to the wing flaps of the stranger, waiting until he couldn't hear them anymore. Only once he couldn't hear the echo of those terrible wings, that he braved to come outside.

Draigar, who was quietly sobbing up until this point, felt Littlefoot come out of their hiding spot, and seeing a path that lead down to where her mother fell, quickly bolted down the rocky path, with Littlefoot following her… but he knew, if someone lived through that fall… they wouldn't be around for long.

The red hatchling cried out of her mother to respond, but in return, the only sound that reached her tiny ears was the heavy droplets of rain, but she didn't care, Draigar continued calling out for her mother, stubbornly refusing that she just disappeared. She couldn't count how far her legs took her, not she cared, she had to find her mother.

And then, through the darkness, Draigar spotted a familiar silhouette. Immediately, fear for her mother's wellbeing, overrode any other sensation in her body as she rushed forward, not noticing the sharp pebbles, that were washed over by 'heaven's tears'. The hatchling ignored the sharp pain that those rocks caused her tiny feet. With each step, the silhouette became more and more clear, until finally… she realised that it was indeed her mother.

Drago laid there motionless amid the pile of rocks, a small pool of dark red around her body as the rain was cleansing her grievous wounds. Draigar immediately ran up towards her mother's head, crying out for her to respond. Hope came to the small hatchling as she noticed Drago's chest rising and falling slowly.

"_Mommy, come on… get up, please!" _Draigar called out in her tiny and broken voice.

"_D-dear? Oh…" _Drago opened her eyes and barely raised her head, "_I… I don't think I can…" _Her voice was soft and quiet, amid the slight gurgling sound.

"_But you can, please… Get up…" _Draigar pleased with her mother, but the amethyst female was too weak to even lift a claw, or her tail.

Seeing that her mother was not getting up, she huddled closely to her snout as she started to weep. Drago meanwhile, overcame the weakness in her body briefly, and with her paw, reached into her her mane as she pulled out a small amethyst colored stone which she slowly moved towards her daughter.

"_Draigar… my dear daughter… take this…" _Drago said quietly and softly as the small stone looked like it glowed a faint purple light. "_It… will help you…"_

Draigar hesitantly walked up towards the stone, and with her trembling paws took it but her mother's gift didn't calm the rapidly beating heart inside her small body, it actually made it worse as she didn't even want to think of the implications of her mother's gift.

Littlefoot then arrived on the scene and was able to witness the horrifying scene before him… It reminded him so much of how he lost his own mother, the parallel of event was uncanny. Both sacrificed their lives to protect what they held dear, and he knew… that he would need to be for Draigar in this dark time, just like Rooter was for him all those Cold Times before.

"Littlefoot…" Drago called out in a wet whisper as she swallowed the air she desperately needed, "...listen Drago." Once Littlefoot looked at her, she continued. "Drago is… descendant of guardians… who protect world… and bring harmony…"

"You protect the world?" Littlefoot asked in complete surprise.

"Draigar… my daughter… is… last of… my kind… and… only red… Backwing..." Drago continued, even though blood poured out of her mouth and dripped down on the wet rocks below. Her strength was rapidly disappearing and she knew it, but she still tried to tell Littlefoot everything, while she had the chance.

"What should I do, Drago?" Littlefoot asked, ready to accept whatever burden he is to carry.

"Littlefoot… please…" Drago took in a deep breath, and in a strange turn of events, the next phase she said lost her accent, as she hurriedly and fearfully said; "Take my daughter with you. Protect her from… Sierra!"

"Si-Sierra?" Littlefoot's eyes widened, for he didn't hear that name for three cold times.

"You are young… but you have… a kind heart… you'll do fine." Dragon finished as let out a weak and soft smile. She felt her strength fading and she knew, she didn't have long.

"_Mommy!" _Draigar finally called out to Drago on her own, unknown to Littlefoot language. She felt that something awful was about to happen, "_I can't go on without you!"_

"_You won't be alone, my child… Your friend will… take care of you…"_ Drago replied quietly, trying to calm down her already completely terrified hatchling.

"_But, you will stay with me?! Right?!" _The red hatchling asked with a shaky voice.

"_I'll be with you… even if you can't see me."_

"_What you mean I can't? I can always see you..."_

"_Draigar…" _Drago interrupted the terrified sobs of her daughter, "_Let your heart guide you… it whispers... so listen closely..." _She whispered with her quieting voice as she softly smiled at her daughter, using the last of her strength.

"_Mom… mommy…"_

After that the female Backwing fell silent as she let out her last breath and her head collapsed on the rocky ground below with a small thud. For several seconds there was a silence that was only interrupted by the falling sky water. But the stunned red hatchling didn't even hear it, for she tried to wake up her mother as she loudly called out to her with her hoarse voice while pushing against her mother's scales with her nose and paws. Draigar realized that her mother was no more, but she could not accept this bitter truth. Tears started flowing down her small muzzle. She strongly huddled to Drago's still warm body and in a whisper, begged her to come back. To open her eyes again, to stay with her… but words couldn't help the fallen female. Not anymore…

"Draigar… we need to go…" Littlefoot said in a somber but calm tone.

The young longneck knew he had to hastily get the hatchling out of here, for she wouldn't be able to survive on her own. And prolonging the time of parting for too long can cause more troubles to come. Who knows, maybe there is another bloodthirsty Backwing flying around in the Mysterious Beyond, one that wouldn't hesitate to sink their teeth into Draigar's helpless body. However, realizing what the Earthstomper wanted from her, Draigar quickly whipped her tearful head at him and hissed out in her own language.

"_No! I won't abandon her! She is my mom and I will always be with her, got it?! No one and nothing will separate us! I'll… I'll just wait until she will open her eyes…" _Draigar stuttered mid her tirade as she let out several sobs while her eyes again started to fill up with tears.

Still denying the death of her mother, Draigar immediately ran under Drago's limp wing and huddled closely to the cooling side of her mother, trying to keep as much of the motherly warmth as she could. All the while, she sorrowfully recalled the happier times she had with her mother, which was slowly vanishing from her mind, causing more pain to the already grief stricken hatchling.

Littlefoot watched the entire scene with compassion, for he knew, there was little he could do... even without knowing the Backwing language, her sorrow and denial was well written on her face. It reminded him of what he felt when his mother died, almost looking at the look-back of himself… and from those memories, he knew that the only thing he could do was to wait patiently.

Finally, he saw that Draigar fell asleep in her sorrowful and alert sleep, tired from the tragedy that befell her. It was time for the Longneck to act so he carefully walked up to the sleeping hatchling, and gently picked her up by the scruff, before settling her on his back, all the while trying not to wake up the unfortunate orphan.

Once he went outside, he turned around and gave a sorrowful glance to the brave mother who saved her daughter and himself from the terror that killed her, before he returned to the path that he took from his home, being quickly but careful not to wake up the hatchling, if she wakes up during their journey… she will most likely run off to be with her mother… and with dangers lurking around. This was the last thing he would need… there had been enough tragedy for one day.

Meanwhile, the Great Valley, unaware of the drama that occurred outside it's stalwart walls, peacefully slept under the music of the falling sky water. Completely unprepared for the fact that they were going to accept a new member into their herd.


	9. Chapter 8

**Hello everyone, big sorry for the delay. Let's just say that the start of November was quite tough and I was very busy. So I hope my life would finally turn around and give me some free time to do what I really want :) Enjoy this latest chapter where you will find out about if Orphaned Draigar would be able to stay in the Great Valley. Will the secret be revealed to the rest of the dinosaurs or will she remain hidden? Only time will tell, enjoy :)**

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**Chapter 8: "Draigar's Fate"**

The Bright Circle was not yet visible behind the massive mountain walls, but it's ray already illuminated the high peaks. After some time, Littlefoot had finally passed the two stone pillars of the Great Valley, stepping his feet on the familiar soil of his home, all the while he constantly looked back at his sleeping passenger. The bright heavenly body had finally appeared from behind the mountains, giving it's life-giving light to the valley as its colors returned to the familiar shade that the young Longneck knew and loved. But besides that, he finally was able to see the true colors of the Backwing hatchling on his back.

She had delicate bright red scales with a yellow chest and belly. Her head and the back of her neck were decorated by a soft purple mane which moved slightly in the gentle wings. Normally those colors would feel off and odd on such a creature, but here, on the hatchling's small body, those colors seem to fit her perfectly and they complemented each other. Then the hatchling stirred a bit and she took her snout out from under her paws which offered the young Longneck more of her features. There was her dark red plate on the bridge of her snout, most likely for protection and there were a pair of small, golden spikes that pointed outward from her elbows.

Littlefoot was looking around with a worried look, under no circumstances he must not be seen with his new friend. That caused him to stumble a couple of times from the small pebbles and bumps, but he was able to level himself off and resumed his journey, trying his beck not to wake up his small sleeping passenger.

Within the next couple of minutes, the Bright Circle had lit up the entire valley, and then Littlefoot heard something he didn't want to hear just yet; The loud roars and yawns of the valley's inhabitants as they announced their wakefulness. The young Longneck knew that if he would be spotted with the new guest, it will end very badly. So in order to hide from view of others, he turned away from the usual plains and into a forest path.

He walked stealthily and quietly so as not to alert others of his presence. Like a shadow he crept between the tall trees, carefully checking his surroundings and to see if anyone was following them. Despite the fact that no one was in the forest, he could feel being watched by something. Littlefoot didn't know if it was just his general paranoia or fear from being discovered, added on by his fatigue, or if someone was truly watching his every move. But he kept moving forward, the feeling only giving him more strength as he went through the thicket.

The rays of the Bright Circle shimmered through the dense foliage as they were slowly warming up the hatchling's from the cold and rainy night. However the allowing glares of the heavenly body irritated Draigar's closed eyes. With the chain of nice and sweet sleep-stories being rudely interrupted, the hatchling lazily opened her eyes. Only to see that instead of the dark walls of the stone cave, there were tall trees, unusual grass… and what's more, they were moving despite the fact that she was laying still.

As Draigar looked around, she realized that she was on Littlefoot's back who was moving through the forest. That in turn, dropped a bunch of worrisome questions on top of her head; Why was she here? Where was her mommy? And why she didn't join her and stayed in the cave?

To the small hatchling, the nightly events seemed more like a bad sleep-story, as Draigar refused to believe her mother was gone. And still thinking that Drago was alive, her mind started to come up with a reasonable explanation.

'_Probably my mom was very tired and decided to sleep in the cave. And she sent me with the Earthstomper for me not to be bored, yes! That's it! He is showing me the forest and then we will return back to mommy!' _She thought to herself, calming herself as she started to look around as the new world around her.

And what a pretty place it was! Gentle wind caused the foliage to lightly rustle and filling the forest with strange and pleasant aroma of dozens, maybe hundreds, of herbs and plants. The pleasant chirping and clicking of small Flyers was heard above the canopy of deep green leaves, which both were a delight for the ears and the eyes. The Bright Circle was also playful as it disappeared behind the leaves, only to appear again when the wind brushed through the canopy as if it was playing Peek-a-boo with the hatchling. Everytime it showed up again, Draigar pleasantly squinted her eyes at the gentle rays warmed her. Then that some of the leaves fell down from the canopy, dancing on the breeze around the duo and looking like they were whispering among themselves.

The little hatchling had already experienced the leaves fall back in her own valley, and that fact alone calmed her even more as she was lost in her memories. She slowly stood up on all fours and warmed up from the Bright Circle, she took on a pouncing position as she swooshed her tail and intently watched the leaves that fell around her. None of them would satisfy the little huntress, and yet she waited and waited for a perfect opportunity.

And just then, her eyes focused on a quite beautiful target. A large Treestar that slowly landed on Littlefoot's back. Her back legs quickly spring into action as she jumped high and deftly grabbed the falling leaf before landing on the young dinosaur's back. Now with her 'prey' caught, she started to look over the leaf with a proud and curious expression, sniffing it and twiddling it in her tiny paws. Completely unaware that the young Longneck was watching her play with a tender look.

'It's impossible for adults to assume that she is a monster! She is so harmless and cute, completely not like Sharpteeth!' Littlefoot thought to himself as he continued watching his new friend, completely unaware that he is about to have a visitor.

"Hello my friend. My friend, hello!" Came a familiar voice from a nearby fern.

Within a split second, the young Longneck was startled and in his indecision he trotted in one place as he whipped his head around as he tried to think about what he would do. But Draigar had different ideas, as after she heard the voice of an unfamiliar Earthstomper, she pressed herself against Littlefoot's back and covered herself with her freshly caught trophy, completely hiding from prying eyes.

And just in time as seconds later, the owner of the voice emerged from the shrubs and it was Ruby.

"Hey Ruby, I was just going to have breakfast." Littlefoot replied as it was the only thing that came into his mind and he tried to go around his friend. As right now, he didn't believe that he should introduce the hatchling to his friends. Who knows how they would react to a creature that they had never seen.

"Maybe we should find our friends first? Eating together is more fun than eating alone." Ruby asked cheerfully, but then looked at Littlefoot with concern, "By the way, why did you wake up so early? Shouldn't you be having breakfast with your grandparents?" She paused, "Did something happen?" she asked with more concern.

"No, no! Everything's alright, Ruby." Littlefoot defended himself, before he paused nervously. "I couldn't sleep… there were bad sleep stories about Sharpteeth… Big, scary… flying…" He winced slightly as he remembered the events of the past night. "I decided to wander through the forest a bit, you know… to clear my head. My grandparents were still sleeping and I didn't want to worry them, you know."

"Wow… you really had a hard night…" Ruby replied with compassion, before her cheerful demeanor returned to her features. "But I'm sure you can forget about the Sharpteeth, if you eat in the company of your friends, and not Sharpteeth."

"Wait! I was just…" Littlefoot tried to answer but then, Draigar let out a small sneeze, which caused her to huddle under her leaf even tighter.

"Who's there?!" Ruby called out with concern as she started looking around to see where the stranger was.

"Don't worry! It's just me…" Littlefoot replied as he covered his passenger and then smiled innocently at the pink fastrunner, "Something tickled my nose and I couldn't hold it."

"I see…" Ruby replied as she looked at Littlefoot with some suspicion but then shook her head, "Come on! The sooner we get to our friends, the sooner our friends will be together!"

"Yeah, let's go." Littlefoot replied with as much enthusiasm as he could possibly muster.

While Ruby wasn't looking, the young Longneck couldn't help but let out a weary sigh. He knew fully well that it was impossible to hide the hatchling now, but refusing the pink Fast Runner's offer would come as very suspicious to his friends. Now he only hoped he would be vigilant enough to make sure Draigar stays hidden until he would be able to hide her someplace safe.

After a bit of walking, the duo came onto a small forest clearing where the young dinosaurs have agreed to meet in the early morning to think of the plans for the day. The rest of their friends had already arrived and were waiting for Ruby and Littlefoot to arrive. After their usual greetings, the young Longneck had offered for everyone to have breakfast together and everyone liked the idea.

With the seven friends now scattering in search of morning food, Littlefoot quickly picked up a couple of leaves and then started looking where he could hide Draigar. But to his misfortune, his friends arrived back to the clearing faster than they usually took, and thus he had to leave Draigar on his back. Thankfully as the breakfast had begun and his friends were munching on their food, with Chomper eating his fill of stinging buzzers, no one noticed the leaf that was on the young Longneck's back. But now with the tasty treats gone, it was time to choose what they would play.

"It's so hot today, It is, it is!" Ducky said as she rubbed her forehead. "Maybe we should play Swimmer and Splasher?" she offered.

"No, don't want it. We already played this one two days in a row." Littlefoot objected, hoping that his friends would find an activity without him and let him be able to hide his secret passenger.

"Then how about Hide and Seeker?" Chomper offered, but slightly deflated once Littlefoot shook his head.

As the debates continued on what to play, Littlefoot continued to reject the ideas of his friends. And when her friend rejected another idea for the tenth time, Cera finally had enough with the flathead's suspicious antics.

"What in the name of ancestors is wrong with you?! If this keeps up we will spend all day deciding what to play and get none of it in the end!" The yellow Threehorn exploded.

"Not in the mood today…" Littlefoot muttered in exasperation, tired of his friends' so called interrogation. "Maybe you can play something without me and I'll later, okay?"

The rest exchanged slightly worried and suspicious looks, as if saying; 'Yep, he isn't himself lately. I wonder what happened.'

"Okay… But are you sure you want to be left alone? You might feel sorry and lonely if you do, yep, yep, yep." Ducky replied after a short silence, to which Littlefoot shook his head and giving up, she got back onto Spike's back and getting ready to leave. Maybe Littlefoot just needed some time alone but she hoped this won't become a usual occurrence.

However as the friends were about to leave, Cera turned around and noticed the Treestar on Littlefoot's back.

"Littlefoot? Why do you carry that Treestar on your back?" She asked in a questioning tone.

"Oh? It might have fallen and I didn't even notice it." Littlefoot lied slightly nervous. He hoped that they won't press the issue and finally leave him alone.

"Then you no need it." Petrie replied and he landed on his friend's back, getting ready to toss the leaf away that seemed to have stuck to Littlefoot's back.

"Wait! Petrie don't-" The young Longneck shouted in fear, but it was too late.

As the leaf slowly fell to the ground, there was no cover for the Backwing hatchling as the seven dinosaurs were able to see Draigar's terrified form as she was scared half to death. Petrie quickly yelped and flew away from the unknown creature as Draigar quickly darted to the ground and tried to hide between the young Longneck's legs. The entire scene caused the six dinosaurs to freeze in place as their jaws hang in shock as their stunned eyes were glaring at Littlefoot.

"Ummm… guys…" Littlefoot began awkwardly as he tried averting the gaze of his friends, "Meet, Draigar… a Backwing."

"WHO?!" Cera yelled out in complete surprise.

"Remember that two days ago I mentioned Backwings and you said that I dreamt about them?" Littlefoot asked to which Cera slowly nodded, "Well, as it turned out, it wasn't a sleep story. They are real and Draigar is a Backwing."

"Draigar... what a weird name. Wait…" Cera shook her head, "How did she even ended up here?! And where have you found her?" She bombarded Littlefoot with questions.

"I like her name, yep, yep, yep!" Ducky replied as she hopped off of Spike's back, and slowly approached the hatchling's shelter, "Hello, Draigar! Don't be afraid, come out. I won't hurt you." She said as she offered the hatchling her arm, but it only caused Draigar to huddle even closer to Littlefoot.

"She doesn't understand us, Ducky…" Littlefoot replied to his surprised friend.

"Maybe she'll understand me!" Chomper offered as he approached Draigar and let out a series of gentle series of growls and grumbles. But in reply he only got a small yelp which he didn't understand. His plan sadly failed.

"This isn't even the language of Sharpteeth! I can't understand it." Chomper replied in surprise as he was trying to figure out how to speak Draigar's language.

As Littlefoot heard it, he thought that maybe he would be able to get Draigar to come out, not with words, but with her understanding of his feelings and intentions.

"Don't be afraid, Draigar… those are my friends, and they won't hurt you, please come out." He said softly.

There was a tense silence for several moments, before finally, the dinosaurs heard the rustling and footsteps of four small feet which headed out of Littlefoot's shadow. And then, a small trembling red paw emerged which dropped onto Ducky's palm and the joyful Swimmer slowly led the hatchling out of her hiding place. Soon the dinosaurs could see Draigar's bright red head, along with a neck with a purple mane. Then her small body and thin legs before finally seeing her long tail with a small spike on the tip of it. The hatchling looking very timid and shy as the gaze of seven dinosaurs were focused on her as the rest of Littlefoot's friends had surrounded him and the hatchling.

"Well, I see that you can speak the Backpaw language perfectly." Cera grumbled without amusement.

"No, I can't speak their language. However Draigar can understand me without words." Littlefoot proudly replied after which he replied in a slightly hurt tone, "And she is a Backwing, not Backpaw."

"Don't see the difference." Cera retorted dismissively.

"You know, Draigar… you are very beautiful, yep, yep, yep!" Ducky said with a smile after she examined the hatchling's features. Draigar for her part, remembering how her mother translated the same tone of unknown language, let out a shy, but happy purr.

Following the young Swimmer's lead, the rest of the young dinosaurs started talking among one another, taking in Draigar's features and seeing the unmistakable similarities between them and her. All except for a certain yellow Threehorn.

"Where are her horns? You said that they have horns like those of Threehorns!"

"She is just a hatchling, Cera. They'll grow when she gets older." Littlefoot replied calmly.

"She is a hatchling?! Just who in the Bright Circle's name have you 'adopted' this time, huh?!" Cera growled out, "You know very well that our parents will never let 'it' stay in the valley!"

"What do you mean 'it', Cera?" Littlefoot replied with a frown. It was clear on his face that he didn't like the behavior of his Threehorn friend, even though it can be easily stated that she is always like that. "I'm never wrong when it comes to friends! I'm sure Draigar will be able to be friends with everyone in the Valley!"

"And I still believe that she will never be accepted!" Cera stubbornly said, standing her ground on the matter.

"Why don't you like her, Cera?" Chomper asked plainly, "She is so nice and beautiful."

"See? She already made friends with us." Littlefoot added with a smile.

"Maybe she is nice now, but what will happen when she grows up? Are you sure that Backwings are not like Sharpteeth? And even if they don't eat green food, can you actually promise that she would be just as good as Chomper?" Cera asked, but before Littlefoot could answer she continued, "No, you can't! And I'm sure that nothing would come of this brat but disaster and misery! Hrmph!" She finished as he proudly raised her head. It said enough that she will not be changing her mind in the slightest.

"Can you tell us about her, Littlefoot?" Ruby asked, trying to diffuse the situation. "The faster you tell us about Draigar, the faster we'll be able to know about her."

"Littlefoot?" Petrie called out as he saw the freshly healed wound on Draigar's wing, "Do all Backwing have one wing short than other?"

"No, they were the same. It happened before Draigar and her mom fled from Dragvalley, the home of Backwings. Evil Flyers attacked their valley and one of them bit a piece of her wing off." Littlefoot sighed somberly.

"What?!"

"Evil Flyers?!"

"Dragvalley?!"

"Attacked?!"

"Backwing's Valley?!"

The outburst from his friends was to be expected. After all, they didn't know what had transpired before Draigar came into his care.

With a heavy sigh, the young Longneck sat down on the grassy ground and started slowly telling Draigar's tale and everything he knew about her. It had become necessary in order for them to understand. He began with the evening when Ducky saw the strange falling star, how he went into the Mysterious Beyond and met Drago. How she explained where she and her daughter came from and why, before ending on the dreadful night when Drago was killed and Draigar was left an orphan.

Even though Draigar couldn't understand the words of her Longneck friend, the somber tone of his voice when he told of her mother's brutal death, caused her mind to flashback to that same terrible night, recalling the nightmare of her mother fighting that terrible, white-eyed beast of a Backwing. The emotion of such a recollection caused her to cringe in terror as she once again began to persuade herself that it was all just a bad sleep story and that the Earthstomper is saddened by another thing that isn't connected to her mother.

Once the somber story ended, Littlefoot silently looked over his friends, waiting to see what they would say. But instead, he was met with deafening silence as it hung heavily over the meadow that was only interrupted by the ambient sounds of the forest. The six were sitting there in mute shock from Draigar's tragic story, for losing a parent is the worst nightmare a child could experience, even one so young as her. No one wanted to be the one to resume talking until finally, Cera was the first to break the silence.

"This is… of course, incredibly sad… and like you all, I feel very sorry for her…" Cera began before taking a deep breath, breaking herself from the image of how would have felt if her own father would have died right in front of her. Then she continued with a serious tone in her voice.

"But bringing a Backwing hatchling into the Valley is still a stupid idea. We don't know her at all, nor we can predict her behavior! She is completely unlike any of us, even Sharpteeth, and the adults would not like this! Plus, have you ever thought what if that monster would come back to finish the job with this brat?!" The yellow Threehorn narrowed her eyes, "No… I'll have to tell everything to my dad. The adults must know about this 'new addition'."

Having brought her opinion to everyone, Cera stood up and as if carrying out an important mission, held her head high as she headed towards the bushes to leave the meadow. The other dinosaurs looked between one another, not even thinking of stopping her as they knew it was quite pointless. Once Cera's mind was made up on something, she will do it. However before disappearing into the bushes, she glanced back at the poor hatchling with a somber look, as if doubting her decision, but that doubt soon vanished and she disappeared into the bushes. Most likely to get her father involved.

"So… what are you going to do?" Chomper asked once he made sure that Cera was far enough to not hear their conversation.

"I'll take Draigar with me and care for her." Littlefoot replied sternly, he made up his mind.

"But... if Cera right? And that monster come back for Draigar?" Petrie asked nervously as he was constantly looking around, as if waiting for that monster to attack again. "Don't you think that keep her in Valley risky?"

"I'm not afraid of that Backwing!" Littlefoot replied with resolute tone in his voice as his eyes flashed with anger from the memory of that murderer, "She is my friend and I'll never let any harm come to her! I'll do everything in my power to protect her, plus, that monster didn't search for us. Meaning that it might not even be aware of Draigar's existence."

"I agree, but even so… I'm afraid the adults won't see it that way. They won't risk their families for the sake of an unknown hatchling." Chomper replied, knowing full well how hard it was to convince the Valley for him to stay in it.

"Then maybe we won't tell them about the other Backwing." Littlefoot offered, but Ruby shook her head.

"Absolutely not! The Adults must know of the other Backwing! If they know if this threat, they will be prepared to deal with the threat." Ruby objected.

"And what if they would immediately dislike her? Cera is right… There is no other dinosaur like her in the Great Valley and a new creature might frighten them." Chomper replied sorrowfully.

"Yeah, the adults always fear something that they assume should be feared." The pink Fast Runner sighed.

"Are they really that heartless to banish an orphaned hatchling?! The adults at least need to try to understand Backwings, believe me! I know what I'm saying and they aren't what they seem!" Littlefoot pleadily looked for support from his friends, but they were convinced that it was just too dangerous to keep Draigar around. It was then that he turned to his only still silent friend. "Ducky… what do you think?"

"This is the first time I see eyes like these…" The young Swimmer quietly muttered as she gazed into the eyes of a blissfully unaware hatchling. "They are yellow, like the Bright Circle. Green like the fresh Treestars. And blue… like the cleanest of waters."

That caused the other five to be intrigued as they walked up closer and saw that, indeed, the small Backwing hatchling had those special eyes. Even Littlefoot didn't notice such a special feature as he gazed into those yellow, bright eyes who looked at him with confusion at the sudden attention she was getting. It was then that Ducky raised her head at Littlefoot, ready to answer Littlefoot's question.

"No, I don't believe Cera is right in the slightest! Yes… Draigar is not like any of us..." Ducky replied sternly as she carefully took the little hatchling in her arms, before adding with even more fervor; "But she is just like us together, yep, yep, yep!"

But as Ducky wanted to add something else, she was interrupted by a loud noise of the rustling bushes and heavy footsteps, one that didn't bold well to the young dinosaurs and soon their assumption was realized as Cera proudly walked out of the bushes… with her father in tow. And the look he gave caused Draigar to huddle closer to the young Swimmer.

'_If only my mom would come and protect me from this large one!' _Draigar prayed to herself as she could see the massive size of the Earthstomper, but her mother didn't come to the plea of her child.

"There she is! The little, strange and most likely, dangerous creature that Littlefoot dragged into our Valley!" Cera said as she nudged her head at the red Backwing hatchling. However, instead of a straight up answer, the large gray Threehorn scornfully examined the new addition to the Valley, before he said in his gruff and serious tone.

"Children, you will all go with me to the Meeting Place! The rest of the dinosaurs most likely already assembled and Tria explained the situation to everyone as I told her to do." He then saw that the children were not moving, "What are you just standing around for?! Follow and keep up! And don't forget to take 'it' with you." He ordered as he started to proudly walk away with Cera quickly following her dad and staying to his side.

As the children followed Mr. Threehorn, they looked between one another and knew it was inevitable, either if their hid her or simply confronted the Council now. But now they were resolute in defending their new friend, as Ducky's words rang out in their minds. They were indeed different from one another and that what made their friendship special.

Draigar meanwhile, deftly jumped from Ducky's arms and quickly got back onto Littlefoot's back as in her mind, her larger friend would surely project her from all dangers. And Littlefoot could feel the worry of the red hatchling quite well. He could understand her thoughts and with it, he felt a warm feeling inside his chest, one that gave him the strength to press on. As he walked his head was definitely held high, regardless of the outcome, he will protect his friend.

Soon enough, the Meeting Place had come into view. A place where the inhabitants of the Great Valley resolved the most important issues and made fate changing decisions. Large boulders were piled upon one another in a large semi-circle, creating what might have looked like 'seats' for the dinosaurs that were strictly observing the decision of the Elders who had their place in the middle of the large circle which was covered in sand.

And Just like Mr. Threehorn said, everyone was there. The boulders were covered in different colors of the valley's residents as they were talking with concern between one another. Once they noticed the children with the Backwing hatching, they began talking in more rapid and hushed tones. In the middle of the circle, the Elders awaited for the children to come forth and decide Draigar's fate. Litttlefoot's grandparents also stood among the Elders, since they had to answer for their grandson's deed and if things turned ugly, they would be there to protect their grandson from angry residents of the Valley.

Seeing Littlefoot's grandparents, other children started looking around to see if their families were among the spectators. The first one to find their loved ones was Ducky as she saw her mother, along with the curiously elongated necks of her brothers and sisters. Not far from the Swimmer family, there was Cera's family. Tria looked quite concerned at the six children while trying to settle Tricia down, though the young Threehorn refused to stay in one place.

Meanwhile on the other side of the circle, Petrie's mom and siblings perched up upon one of the odd looking trees, although the blue female flyer had her eyes focused only on deathly terrified, Draigar. Unusual concern and interest sparked in the flyer's eyes.

As the children went to the stones to try and rejoin their relatives, Mr. Threehorn blocked their path, forcing them to remain in the circle and wait for the Council meeting to begin. After the children took their positions, the gray Threehorn took his place on the opposite side of Littlefoot's grandparents as he was prepared to make sure that the Valley was safe from this new creature.

"Friends, relatives. Today our beautiful Great Valley had suffered a new misfortune." One of elder dinosaurs began speaking with his hoarse voice, "An unusual creature came to our valley, one that might be very dangerous to our families and children. Here, at this meeting, we will decide what we would do with this creature and how to protect ourselves. Mr. Threehorn will tell us more about this disaster."

Mr. Threehorn nodded and stepped forward, looking over the frightened and worried inhabitants "Dinosaurs of the Great Valley!" he began loudly, holding his head high. "Our children, or rather, Littlefoot, brought a new and unknown creature he called a Backwing into our Valley." He nudged his head in contempt at the small hatchling on Littlefoot's back.

"Because of that Longneck, we might all be in terrible danger! And I'm sure that a most terrible Sharptooth would grow up from this red brat!"

"That's not true!" Littlefoot protested as he interrupted the larger Threehorn, "Backwings are beautiful and majestic creatures! They are not scary as they seem and they wish no harm unto others! I have seen them with my very own eyes and they are so like us in many ways!"

"Yeah? Then tell us everything you told the children when my daughter found you with this monster and wisely told me about it, thus saving the Great valley from death!" Hearing those words come out of her father made Cera to proudly raise her head, however seeing the terrified hatchling out of the corner of her eye, as well considering the consequences, she lowered her head in a bit of a shame.

"So?! Do tell us about them! We are very eager to get to know those beasts closer!" Mr. Threehorn continued sarcastically, not noticing the mood changes of his daughter.

As Littlefoot could see the gaze of a thousand eyes from the valley's residents, he sighed somberly. With uneasiness and sorrow, he retold everything that he said back in the forest. It was his second time telling this sad tale and his voice visibly broke in several sentences.

Draigar crimged as she heard her friend's voice, the somber and sorrowful tone caused her mind to once again flashback to the nightmare that was the previous day. The terrible roar of the unknown Backwing, the sound of a heavy rain pouring down, The hoarse voice of a mortally wounded Drago, and the terrible stench of death, coupled with the cold body of her mother. Those memories tormented the hatchling to no end in sight… if only she could just forget it…

"And you say that Backwings are not dangerous?!" Mr. Threehorn roared out with a ferocity that would rival most Sharpteeth, "Do you not even notice how brazingly you are lying to us?! You all heard it! One Backwing mercilessly killed another!" He turned to the valley's residents, as hundreds of dinosaurs started to express their horror and fear, it was obvious that they firmly were against Draigar staying in the valley.

"Would any of us dare to kill one of our own kind?! In the Great Valley there is not, and never will be a place for such a monster who would kill anything and everything that gets in its way!" Cera's father continued with a bellowing roar, his thunderous speech did it's job as the crowd was already in fear and outrage.

"No! They are not like this!" Littlefoot cried out in despair as the other five children rushed to his defence, but their cries for a different opinion were deafened by the outraged voices of the residents.

"Please, listen to the youngling! He knows what he is talking about!" Grandpa Longneck tried to defend his only grandson, but the voices of outrage quickly shut them down.

"No murderers!"

"Get that thing out of there!"

"Yeah! Get out! It doesn't belong here!"

"Throw it away!"

"Backwings will never be welcome here!"

Were some of the angry curses hurled down at the center of the circle, before Mr. Threehorn added his own voice to the angry shouts.

"Let those Backwinged murderers live someplace else! Somewhere where those beasts belong!" He roared out louder than everyone else, to a point that one of the elders threw him a dirty look as he roared right in his already barely hearing ear.

Considering the massive backlash he saw, Littlefoot's mind slowly drifted to other possibilities of protecting the small hatchling. He knew that the Mysterious Beyond was no place for someone so young and with the Valley already settled on throwing Draigar into the mouths of hungry Sharpteeth that inhabit it. It would be a life filled with danger and threats… but at least she won't be alone. His mind was set, if Draigar would be banished from the Great Valley, he would follow her.

"They are not the monsters you claim to know!" A sudden, female voice boomed through the crowd as the members of the valley grew quiet as they turned their heads in the direction of the newcomer. But Petrie knew that voice very well, it was the voice he heard ever since he hatched, the voice of his mother.

"I'm shocked, you all know nothing about Backwings and yet you judge them?" The female Flyer said in a disappointed tone as she glided down from her tree perch and gracefully landed in the middle circle.

"It is very rude and hypocritical coming from you! Fortunately, Littlefoot is not the only one who knows about these beautiful creatures." Penelope explained as she had the attention of the entire valley, "We Flyers know a lot of them. It is true that Backwings are completely different from us, but so are the dinosaurs and no one is completely identical to another."

"Each of us have something in common and Backwings are no exception to that rule. Like Littlefoot said, the Backwings are indeed like us, and in more ways than one. There are those who are evil and cruel, but there are also those who are gentle and kind. There are those who are smarter than others, and some that aren't. decisive and shy, open and secretive, distasteful and peaceful, cunning and honest, seeking adventures or calm and content living in a peaceful place…" The female Flyer shook her head, "It's impossible to list all of the Backwings, just as it is impossible to list the Dinosaurs. I know that deep inside your minds, you have an ancestor who did something terrible, or shameful… but does that make us just like them? It doesn't."

The residents looked between one another, exchanging knowing looks. There indeed were those in their lives before who did something for which they were shunned. With the valley's inhabitants now in doubt, Penelope pressed the issue.

"We cannot judge all of the creatures just by seeing one. Chomper is a perfect example that not all Sharpteeth are monsters… in fact, before he came to our Valley, he didn't even know that they had a language of their own!" The female Flyer called out. "I even had the rarity to know several Backwings in my life, they will never bully the weak and will always come to save you from danger. They are kind, sensitive and faithful friends that will stay with you until you pass into the Great beyond. And their strength is nothing to sneeze at! They not only make good use of their claws and fangs, their powerful paws and tail but they fly not worse than even the most skilled Flyers! And despite their terrifying teeth and claws, they actually prefer Sweet Bubbles than small dinosaurs that don't like to come back to their nests at night."

"I'm completely sure that Draigar," Penelope gestured her wing at the terrified hatchling, "Will be the Backwing I described, and not the terrible monster than Mr. Threehorn assumed she was. It's true she is small right now, but once she grows up… she will become not only a friend to all dinosaurs in the Valley, but will also become our Valley's protector from even the most fierce Sharpteeth."

This caused the entire valley to become eerily quiet, now that Mr. Threehorn's outburst was overshadowed by truth and logic, there was a lot of doubt hanging in the air and tension as the residents debated what to do.

"Where you know about Backwing, mom?" Petrie asked innocently, cutting through the silence that was the meeting.

"Your uncle never spoke about them? Now that's a surprise for me! Knowing him he would never shut up about anything in his 'adventures', I thought that he told you everything about his life among the Backwings, granted he would gloss over certain details to look better than he is." Penelope replied as she tapped her beak in a pondering fashion, "I remember he used to tell me everything about a Backwing he used to be friends with when he was younger. He had a soft and fluffy mane on his head that ran down his neck in between two golden horns, two spikes on his elbows and a beak like that of a Flyer."

"At first I didn't believe him, I know he would always try to claim that he found a new creature. And could it have been otherwise in the first place? How would you react if you heard someone telling of a dinosaurs that stood on four legs and had wings on its back? That was until I actually met the creature in person. I realized that my brother was right all along, and for once in his life, he didn't embellish things."

Once Penelope had finished her speech, the valley's inhabitants started to talk among each other. There was plenty of food for thought among them and now, some were actually thinking of giving Draigar a chance.

But it was then that Mr, Threehorn narrowed his eyes on the blue female flyer with a look of anger. The glare spoke volumes, which was a usual reaction from male Threehorns, they always get angry when someone argues with them.

"All of this is very interesting, I admit." He began with a serious and stern tone in his voice, "But it doesn't solve the main issue; Are Backwings monsters or not? Also, our recent experience with Pterano proved that he is nothing but an arrogant liar and a charlatan who tried to seduce our children with tales of his fictional adventures that he gets from ancestors knows where!" He then looked to the crowd.

"We never even met those so called Backwings! What if, like Sharpteeth, most of them are nothing but murderous beasts just like the one that the Longneck told us about? And how can we be absolutely sure that this brat won't grow up into one and strangle all our younglings while we all are fast asleep to either feed or entertain herself?" The gray Threehorn finished, but then a new voice joined the conversation.

"We can't be sure about it! None of us even tried getting to know the little one, so we don't know if Draigar is kind or not." Grandpa Longneck replied as he slowly moved up to his grandson and stood by him, giving him a soft smile, "But remember, friends. The Great Valley has always given shelter to those dinosaurs who were weary and lonely from their journey, or those who lost their homes. We will never know what kind of character they will be, but we still accept them instead of driving them into the dangerous Mysterious Beyond. How is Draigar worse than any other dinosaur? Even Chomper, a Sharptooth. I say we give this young creature a chance."

"Absolutely not! This is way too dangerous!" The gray Threehorn argued, "Taking this Backwing in is an unjustifiable risk! Who knows how the brat will grow up and what troubles will this coexistence will bring us! Mrs. Flyer said herself that there are others like her, so let her find those like her and leave our valley alone!"

"She won't be going anywhere!" Littlefoot yelled out with such determination that it surprised even him, "Her valley is very far away and the path there is unknown! Draigar is too young to be able to make such a treacherous journey!" He turned to his grandfather, "Grandpa, come on! Tell them that they can't do this! She is too small and weak to make it out there!" He pleaded.

"Littlefoot is right." Mrs. Flyer replied before Grandpa Longneck was able to speak, "From the looks of it, Draigar is barely two seasons old. At this age, all younglings, even those of Backwings are too weak and vulnerable. Banishing her right now would be very cruel, and we wouldn't be better than the murderer that deprived the girl of her mother." She gave a glare at Mr. Threehorn, one that spoke volumes of how disappointed she was in him.

"B-but! What about the safety of the Great Valley?!" Mr. Threehorn stammered a bit, afraid as he felt the Elders move towards Penelope's side.

But before he could say anything else to jeopardize Draigar's stay, Mrs. Flyer thought of a plan that would satisfy both parties involved.

"I know what we could do not to send a hatchling to a certain death, while also keeping the Valley safe! Let Draigar stay with us for three Cold Times, until she grows up and would be able to take care of herself. As she is right now, she can't cause any harm to the dinosaurs living here, and while she grows, we can also understand what kind of a Backwing she is. If she doesn't touch a single egg, harm any younglings, attack the valley's residents or bring any dangerous creatures such as Sharpteeth to the valley, then she can stay." Penelope finished with a smile as Mr. Threehorn gritted his teeth.

"And Draigar will stay here forever?!" Littlefoot exclaimed joyfully, hoping with his heart that the Elders would take Mrs. Flyer's side.

"If the Backwing won't cause harm to us or the Valley." Sterns replied one of the Elders that stood by Mr. Threehorn's side.

"Yes, Draigar will always be welcome here, if she doesn't hurt anyone. If she however won't be able to handle herself… then she will have to leave the Great Valley forever. But, regardless if she would prove herself harmless, it will be her choice whether to stay or to leave. No one, not even Mr, Threehorn can chase her away, or force her to stay in the valley. At the end of the day, it will be her choice where to live, here or in the Backwing Valley." Mrs. Flyer replied as she turned her head to the Elders. "Are we in agreement on this?"

"That is a very wise decision, Mrs. Flyer!" Replied the Elder that assembled this meeting, "Are we all in agreement to this decision?"

After the other Elders whispered among each other, they nodded, "We agree." They replied, however there were a few who abstained from the vote and they threw dark looks at the six children, Draigar and the Elders that agreed for the hatchling to stay.

"Ugh… Very well… she can stay." Mr. Threehorn grumbled as he turned away, refusing to see the happy cheers of the six younglings on their victory.

And what a victory it was! The six friends couldn't stay in one place from excitement, for the prospect of having a new friend added to their circle was enough to cast aside all the worries that the Council's decision would entail. But with the decision declared, nothing stopped the young dinosaurs to rejoice at the happy future that would await them. In fact, the Bight Circle actually looked to become a bit brighter and a gentle breeze was humming a gentle and smooth song. It was as if nature itself was happy with the outcome.

Draigar meanwhile, didn't understand any implications but considering the commotion around her, she could safely assume it was about her and that made her really afraid. But now, with the joy of her friends, she herself couldn't help but smile and hopped off Littlefoot's back.

"But someone must look after the Backwing so that she won't cause trouble. We can't allow her to roam the Great Valley alone! It would be dangerous to both us and her!" Called out one of the residents.

"I believe it would be more than fair to put the responsibility for her care and teaching onto those by those fault she came to our Valley in the first place " One of the Elders said as he pointed his head at Littlefoot and his friends, "I propose putting those six to be responsible for new addition to our Valley. Any disagreement to the proposal?" He asked, however as he saw positive feedback from his fellow Elders he smiled and nodded.

"Then it's decided. Littlefoot and his friends will be responsible for Draigar's education so that they would make a good Backwing out of her. If they fail to do so, they will be faced with the consequences, but what kind will be decided on what type of a crime the new addition will make." The Elder looked at the crowd, "Any questions?"

"But the Longneck said that Backwings don't speak our language! How can she be educated if she can't even understand us?" Another resident called out from the crowd, not allowing the parents of six children to protest on the decision.

"True, the dinosaurs don't know the language of the Backwings… but some flyers were taught in it." Mrs Flyer said with a cunning spark in her eyes, "But I think it would be better if we teach Draigar our language instead. It will be difficult but not impossible. After all, all parents here know that they teach their children how to speak."

"Who will be her tutor then?" The Elder asked.

"The six children. They taught Chomper how to speak our language, and since they are already responsible for her upbringing, then it's only natural that it would be up to them to teach Draigar our language as well." Mrs Flyer replied as she approached the children. "I believe they'll do just fine with this task and there is nothing to worry about." She smiled reassuringly at the children, to which Littlefoot nodded.

"Very well. We understand your position very well, Mrs Flyer." The Elder turned to the crowd again, "Are there any further questions on the matter?"

This time, the rows were in silent acceptance. Everyone understood everything and the Elder smiled. "In this case, I declare this meeting adjourned!" He bellowed out loudly before he stomped his foot on the ground.

The Council's meeting had come to an end, though by the time it did, It was already evening. The six younglings were all worn out and tired from the debates and worry and Draigar had it the worst as she was pretty much in pure terror through all of the proceedings. The Adults had already scattered around, heading to their sleeping spots for the night but despite being worn out and tired, the children couldn't yet go to the land of sleep stories. For there was one question left to answer; Who will adopt Draigar into their nest?

The Swimmer family refused to take her in, citing a strong argument that the hatchling might not feel comfortable sleeping with a bunch of young Swimmers and might feel overcrowded by all of the attention she would get. Although the children knew another reason, and that Mrs. Swimmer didn't want to risk her children.

Going to the Threehorn family was an even worse idea, but still… they had to ask and they received an expected answer. Both Cera and her father refused in anger at the proposition, stating that they would rather lose their horns than allow such a creature into their nest. The only one who wasn't against the idea was Tria as the female Threehorn could empathise with the orphaned hatchling, but either because she was afraid for Tricia's safety, or simply because she didn't want to cause a rift in a relationship with her husband and adopted daughter… she had to refuse as well.

However there were those in the Great Valley who would have loved to adopt the poor hatchling. Besides a pair of Swimmers who were just starting a family, Petrie's family also warmly invited Draigar into their home. Ruby and Chomper could also put Draigar under their care.

However in the back of their minds, the six young dinosaurs already knew where Draigar would go. And that was with Littlefoot and his family. After all, Draigar would be more comfortable with a dinosaur she knew for much longer than a single day, not to mention Littlefoot himself had grown very attached to the hatchling and he would most likely be very lonely spending the night alone if Draigar stayed with anyone else.

Wishing each other goodnight, the friends went to their respective families and sleeping places. Littlefoot slowly took Draigar to his family while the hatchling was already starting to doze off from the adventure she had today. Littlefoot's grandparents warmly welcomed the new addition to their home, after all… their grandson and her had so much in common, especially the tragedy that befell them both. How could they refuse when presented with such circumstances?

Settling in a grassy nest, the young Longneck used his tail to pull Draigar closer to his body, the poor hatchling looking like she was about to fall over any second now. Feeling his warmth coming from her friend, Draigar curled up under Littlefoot's chest and fell asleep with a light sounding purr.

For the first time in several of nights, she finally felt at peace. The familiar sounds of the night, the smells of the plants, the gentle breeze that caressed her tiny snout and a warm touch of someone dear to her, evoked the memories of her Valley… in fact it reassured the hatchling that everything will be fine in the end. It felt like all of the burden she had before was lifted off of her soul, like she was home and projected from any and all manner of dangers. It was a true gift that the exhausted Draigar needed.

And it was a gift to Littlefoot as well as he felt better than he used to. For now the small hatchling is perfectly safe and nothing will harm her. She was no longer threatened by the Sharpteeth that roam the Mysterious Beyond, nor hunger, bad weather and especially not the maddening loneliness of a small and cramped cave. Yes… Draigar became to him more than just an orphaned hatchling. He is not just a friend but a loyal protector. In that very instant, he knew that Draigar became to him more like a sister he never had, almost as if the Great Ancestors and the Bright Circle gave him something he dreamt for a very long time.

'I swear… I'll do anything and everything in order to keep you in the Great Valley! I will make sure you will grow up to become not only the best Backwing but also the best dinosaur in the entire world! You will never be alone, for I'll be like a brother to you. No matter the hardships, I'll be by your side… Always.' Littlefoot promised to himself and with those thoughts, he slowly drifted into the realm of sleep.

* * *

**And there we go, despite the turbulent start... Draigar was able to stay, but it's just half the battle ahead. Now Littlefoot is tasked with making sure that Draigar would behave like a Leaf-eater and not someone who would eat meat. How will this turn out? You'll find in the next Chapter of The Legend of Fire Crystal. I'll also be replying to reviews in this section, sorry in advance that I wasn't able to reply before.**

**Bolticrontic: "Thank you very much for the review, I hope you enjoyed the fanfic so far as now it had picked up speed and we are introduced to the Gang of Seven."**

** VONDON E WILES: "Thank you very much for your kind words :)"**

** Guest: "Well, as you can see from this chapter, no. The Language of Backwings/Dragons is different from that of Sharpteeth so Chomper won't understand her."**


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